Beyond My Control
by beautifulXflowerXJo
Summary: The strongest relationships are the ones rooted in friendship, or so they say. Jay and Evie have been the best of friends for years, they are as close as two can get, but can they find their way towards each other or will certain people and circumstances stand in their way? (Title's from the quote: "I chose to be your friend, but falling in love with you was beyond my control.")
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.**

About two months had passed since Pinc— I'm sorry, _King_ Ben's coronation, and everything in Auradon was well. The four friends from the Isle of the Lost were feeling more and more at home in the Kingdom, finally finding their place and feeling like they actually belong somewhere.

It was a sunny day outside, classes had been cancelled due to the lovely weather, as Fairy Godmother had deemed it fit for the students to enjoy the sunshine and take a small break from their lessons. Most of them were out in the gardens or in the forest having fun and Mal was walking around aimlessly, trying to spot one of her friends, so they could hang out together. Ben was busy with some documents he had to look into (his responsibilities had grown now that he was king), Jay had some practice with the team, Carlos was volunteering at the dog kennel with Dude and Evie... Where _was_ Evie?

Mal looked around the grounds but her blue-haired friend was nowhere to be seen. Hmm... Maybe she was inside? Mal decided to check their room, although she doubted Evie would actually be there, seeing as the weather outside really _was_ gorgeous and her friend had never been one to stay cooped up inside anyway. Perhaps she was somewhere with Doug...

Pushing the door open, Mal was surprised to see that Evie was, in fact, in their room and she was looking a bit down, with a small frown adorning her face.

"Hey, Evie, why aren't you outside?" Mal asked, making the other girl turn her head to look at her.

„Mal, I've got a problem." Evie stated, uneasiness creeping into her voice. She was sitting on Mal's bed with her hands nervously folded in her lap, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her black skirt.

„What is it?" Mal asked concerned, as she took a step forward, closing the door behind her, and approached her friend.

„I think…" Evie's eyes shifted and she bowed her head down, sticking her gaze to the pattern of the carpet in front of her. Mal waited for her to continue on her own, without pushing her, sensing it was clearly something important. „I've got feelings for Jay." Evie finished quietly without lifting her eyes, but directing them towards the boots of her purple-haired friend. Silence engulfed the two girls for a few moments.

„What?" Mal questioned surprised once she found the ability to speak.

„I know! It's horrible! I mean, he has a girlfriend!" Evie exclaimed exasperated as she buried her face in her hands.

„No. No, no." Mal immediately hurried to comfort her friend while overcoming the initial wave of shock. She stepped forward and sat next to Evie on the bed. „Ah. I mean…" She struggled to find the right thing to say. „Jay? Really?"

„Yeah…" Evie sighed, lifting her head and looking at Mal. „I don't know what to do…" She looked so worried, Mal really wanted to help her but she wasn't sure how.

„Well, okay, um… How long have you had feelings for him?" The purple girl asked genuinly curious.

„Thing is… I think I've felt this way for a long time." Evie told her. „But, seeing him with Audrey these past couple of weeks… I think I'm just now realising it." She said sadly. „What am I going to do?"

„Don't worry, E." Mal said, laying a comforting glove-clad hand on the other girl's own hand. „This thing with Audrey, it's not gonna last, trust me. Jay's way too wild for her." She really meant it too. Jay might like Audrey because he'd always had a thing for pretty girls but that didn't mean they were going to work out.

„He may be infatuated with her at the moment but sooner or later he's gonna realise she's not right for him. And you and Jay…" Mal pondered for a moment. „I hadn't really considered it before but you two would make a great couple. You know, they say the strongest relationships are the ones rooted in friendship and you and Jay are so close. God, I even feel stupid for not seeing this sooner." She laughed, making Evie smile with her.

„Thanks for the support, Mal." She said, sqeezing her friend's hand affectionately. „I really mean it." Evie told her with a smile, appreciating the fact that her friend was there for her.

She sighed inwardly, still worried but feeling a little bit better now, and decided she would just have to wait and see what would happen next.

"That's what I'm here for." Mal smiled encouragingly before standing up and extending her hand out to Evie. "Come on, let's go soak up some vitamin D."

Evie laughed, accepting Mal's hand, and the two girls headed out.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Descendants. I own nothing but the storyline.**

 **A/N: There aren't many Jay/Evie stories out there, so I thought I'd write my own. Leave me a review if you've got the time, it'd be much appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

Audrey and Jay were sitting together on the bleachers in the yard, enjoying the sunshine. Jay had just finished training with the team and was now sitting with his girlfriend who had come to watch them play.

„Hey, Jay?" Audrey said in a sickly sweet voice, leaning on his arm and twirling a lock of his hair between her fingers.

„Yeah, babe?" He asked facing her.

„Have you ever thought about cutting your hair?" She asked absentmindedly looking up at him with the most innocent expression she possessed. His long hair was annoying her. He looked like the thief that he was and she was a princess after all, she couldn't be with _just anybody_. If she were to be with him she had to make sure he at least looked presentable.

„Nah, not really." He told her, furrowing his eyebrows in slight confusion. He had the fleeting feeling she was up to something. „Why?"

„Well, it's not that I don't like it, baby." Audrey said, beating around the bush, trying to use her charms on him. She had to be delicate if she wanted to make him do what she wanted without him realising it. „It's just… I think you'd look so much more handsome with short hair." She told him, smiling sweetly and making sure to flutter her eyelashes inconspicuously.

„Ah, I don't know, Audrey." Jay said, shaking his head slightly. He liked himself the way he was and he was reluctant to make such a big change, like cutting his hair.

„I just thought it would look really good on you." Audrey purred, not giving up. „You'd look like a prince." She smiled convincingly. „Not that you're not my prince already." She giggled and Jay smiled though it was a bit hesitant. He didn't want to change. But it seemed like it would definitely make Audrey happy and she was his girlfriend now, he wanted her to be happy. He decided he'd consider it, for her sake.

„I'll think about it, okay?" He flashed her his trademark grin and her face brightened at once.

„Thanks, Jay-Jay." She smiled at him widely, planting a kiss on his cheek. That's right, she thought smugly, she'd transform him into the perfect prince she wanted, at least he had a bit of potential. If he would only listen to her, everything would be perfect, she thought grinning to herself.

Jay on the other hand was in conflict. Should he do as she wished just to please her, even though he didn't want to? Maybe they could compromise somehow… But how?

* * *

„So? What do you think?" Jay asked with a grin the next morning as he approached Audrey, who was currently taking some notebooks out of her locker. She turned to look at him and noticed his hair was pulled back like it had been at Ben's coronation. Well, it wasn't what she wanted _per say_ but it was definitely an improvement.

„It looks good, boo." She drawled out with a smile, thinking it was a step in the right direction. She began scheming in her mind. Next on the list was clothes. Then manners. Maybe she'd even get him to use his full name instead of this silly nickname. Wait… What _was_ his name anyway? She realised she didn't know. Oh, well, she'd get him to tell her.

„Right?" He asked, glad that she approved. He was doing it for her after all. „So, I thought about it and I decided on a compromise. This way it'll be shorter like you wanted but I won't have to cut it." He said kind of proud of himself for thinking of this.

„Yeah. It looks great." Audrey said airily, but her mind was elsewhere, already working on how to get him to change his wardrobe to resemble, well, a prince's. That's when the bells for lessons sounded. It was like a million tiny little bells jingling all at once and that was the sound for the beginning and the ending of a class, curtesy of Beast, _ahem,_ King Adam, who had requested that this be the sound for lessons, as it reminded him of his darling wife every time he heard it (and was related to her since she loved books more than anything - except him and Ben, of course).

"Ooh, class is starting, babe. See you in an hour." Audrey said in a sing-song voice, as she leaned forward to peck Jay on the cheek. Then she whirled around, her cream dress making a _swoosh_ sound as she turned, and clicked her impossibly high heels, marching inside the building.

"Wow, she's got her priorities straightened out." A sarcastic voice sounded behind Jay, who turned around to see a smirking Mal and a smiling Evie standing beside their lockers. He grinned at his friends, as they made their way towards him.

"New hair?" Mal asked teasingly, as she laughed good-heartedly and passed him by, entering the building herself. Jay shook his head with a small laugh and turned back to look at Evie who had stopped right in front of him and was looking up at him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. There was a small mischievous glint in her eyes, which Jay couldn't deny really made their colour stand out.

"Go on." He sighed, with a mockingly pained expression on his face. "Make fun of me." He closed his eyes, wincing as if he was waiting for her to strike him. "I can take it." He whispered brokenly, before cracking one eye open cautiously to see her reaction. Evie's smile was so wide it was about to split her face, but she gave herself a thoughtful expression, as she looked him up and down in assessment.

"Well," She pondered for a moment. "I guess it's not _so_ bad." She told him, her smirk winning over, tugging the corners of her mouth upwards.

"Ahaha, is that so?" Jay asked, leaning closer to her playfully with a devilish grin on his face, making Evie laugh melodically at his antics.

"Actually you look rather handsome." Evie confessed, her smile toning down a bit, her features softening. Jay's grin faltered slightly, his cocky demeanor shaken.

"Ahm... Thanks, Eve." He replied a bit embarrassed, which surprised even him and not just a little. He was always so confident and self-assured, why would her comment make him so flustered... This was so stupid, he face-palmed internally. He knew he looked good, right? Besides, Audrey had already complimented him earlier. And, I mean, come on! This is _Evie_ we're talking about, his best friend in the entire world, why would he be nervous? Mal had teased him about his hair and he had laughed it off, that's what friends do. He almost groaned in frustration.

Luckily, Evie didn't seem to notice.

"Come on, we'll be late." The bluenette announced, sliding her dainty gloved hand in his bigger one and tugging him along towards the door.

Contrary to Jay's belief, however, she _had_ spotted the almost inexistant smidge of red which had slowly crept up his neck. Being her mother's daughter, she had been taught to distinguish the different tints, shades and colours of blush since before she could speak, after all.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the picture used for this story.**

 **A/N: As always, I'd love to hear what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

 _ **Flashback.**_

 _„Eve, what's wrong?"_

 _A thirteen-year-old Jay asked a little confused, as he crossed the empty street, approaching the blue-haired girl sitting on the pavement on the other side. Hearing his voice, Evie's head snapped up, making evident the tear streaks which ran down her face. They made Jay even more concerned._

 _„Hey, what happened?" He asked carefully, sitting down beside her, extending one finger and poking her cheek gently. It made her laugh a little through the tears welling up in her eyes, and Jay felt very relieved to hear the sound._

 _„It's nothing." She said, sniffling a little, as she made a move to wipe her face with her sleeve. „Just the usual, you know…" She told him sadly, flashing a small smile in his direction. Jay's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. The usual meant that she was having problems with her mother but what had she done now?_

 _„What did you fight about this time?" He questioned hesitantly. He didn't want to pressure her into discussing something she didn't want to, but he knew that if she didn't want to tell him she wouldn't, so he asked anyway. He just wanted to help. He knew how shitty he felt every time his father reproached him and he didn't want Evie feeling like she had no one to talk to, when he was there. He wanted her to know he was there._

 _Evie sighed tiredly and stared blankly in front of her._

 _„I'll never be as pretty as she wants me to be." She said quietly, making Jay's frown deepen even further and some anger creep into his usually carefree features. Damn it, not this again._

 _It was not an unusual occurance for one of the four friends to be put down by their parents. They were never good enough for them. Mal was never evil enough. Jay never stole things valuable enough. Carlos was never useful enough. And Evie… Evie was never pretty enough._

 _The last one made Jay really pissed because, in truth, she was completely stunning even at the tender age of twelve. She didn't need any of the make-up she had begun wearing at such an early age in order to please her mother. And yet the Evil Queen was never fully satisfied with her daughter's appearance._

 _„You're right." Jay said evenly and Evie looked at him surprised, expecting this from anyone else but not from him. He agreed? She almost burst into tears once more but before she could, he looked at her with a very serious expression in his eyes. „But you don't need to be as pretty as she wants you to be, because you're already absolutely beautiful." He told her in complete honesty and her beyond astonished expression made him laugh out loud._

 _„You're beautiful, Eve." Jay repeated to convince her. „Don't let her get you down, I'm telling you." He told her seriously, resting his elbows on his knees. Then he remembered something. He turned his attention elsewhere just in time to miss the light blush dusting Evie's cheeks and the bridge of her nose._

 _Stuffing his hand in the inside pocket of his vest, Jay fished around before pulling out a necklace which resembled a small tusk. He had pickpocketed it earlier in the day from a travelling merchant who was passing through the market-place. It wasn't anything fancy, the pendant wasn't hanging on a chain, but on a simple brown cord, and it was made out of something resembling brown ivory, but in reality was not. A swirly design was carved into both sides of it._

 _„Here." He said, holding it out to Evie, who took the necklace in her hand and stared at it in fascination. „It's nothing special." Jay told her, and something like embarrassment gripped him now, she deserved better than this, maybe something silver and delicate, not this old junk. „Ah, it's not even valuable…" He said scratching his neck bashfully._

 _„It's perfect." Evie whispered, deeply touched by his gesture. She knew he had tried very hard to make her feel better and it had worked. She couldn't even remember now what her mother's harsh words had been exactly. She ran her fingertips across the swirls on the necklace before clutching it tightly in her fist and turning to look at Jay, who grinned at her happily. „Thank you."_

* * *

Evie smiled fondly at the memory as she stared at her reflection in the tall mirror. Her hand toyed absentmindedly with the tusk, hanging low around her neck, hovering just above the crease of her cleavage. Jay, Mal and Carlos had always been there for her, but Jay most of all. She could only hope that she was there for them too when they needed her.

„You ready to go to meet up with the boys, E?" Mal's head popped out through the bathroom door.

„Sure thing." Evie said, tucking the necklace affectionately underneath the hem of her shirt. „Let's go." She said, grabbing the bag full of food from her bed and the two girls made their way out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter** **4** **.**

It was Friday and the gang had gathered up in the boys' room for a movie night. The girls had been in charge of bringing popcorn, chocolate and, overall, all other kinds of junk food and the guys had picked out the movies (all of them action, of course, they were boys after all).

It was almost half past three in the morning already and they were somewhere in the middle of watching the fourth movie for the night. Well, _watching_ was an overstatement – Carlos was snoring lightly on the floor with his back pressed to the foot of his bed, Dude curled up between his legs. Mal was sprawled out on Carlos's bed also floating in dream land – she had dozed off somewhere between the second and third movie. Jay and Evie were lying next to each other on Jay's bed, propped up on some pillows to watch the film more comfortably, almost asleep as well but not quite yet.

Evie's eyelids were getting heavier every time she blinked and she had to fight harder and harder to open her eyes every time she closed them. Jay's gaze was fixed on the screen, although he was getting sleepy too. His eyes shifted to look at the bluenette by his side when he felt her head droop and fall on his shoulder.

„Alright." He sighed tiredly, reaching carefully around Evie for the remote control. Taking it in his hand, he clicked the off button, switching the TV off, and then put the remote back on the night stand by his bed. He slowly and gently lifted Evie up a little, so he could remove the extra pillows beneath them and throw them on the floor, which wasn't hard at all since she was pretty light compared to him, and her leaning on him helped too.

In her half-asleep state Evie felt the slight movement but everything was hazy to her since the sleep clouded her mind. Who was moving her? Where was she? She felt a strong arm circle around her and hummed sleepily. Must be Jay's. He was strong. She had wanted to tell him something when she was awake but… What was it? She couldn't remember. Oh, wait…

„Jay?" Evie mumbled, sleep almost overcoming her but she fought to stay awake just for a few more seconds until she could tell him what she wanted to.

„Mhm?" Jay hummed, looking down at the girl beside him whose head of indigo curls was resting lightly on his right shoulder.

„You look good with your hair tied up but I like it better when it's down. It's more… _Jay_." Evie sighed, sleep lacing her voice. She was fast asleep before she could await his answer.

Jay's eyes softened as he let out a breath of surprise. He couldn't find the words and maybe it was a good thing that the girl in his arms was already asleep, as it was very uncharacteristic of him to be speechless. He felt an enormous rush of affection for the petite princess (because to him she was every bit a princess) and smiled softly at her sleeping form, as he wove his hand into her dark locks. They smelled of honey and cinnamon.

He sighed deeply, breathing in her scent, and stared up at the ceiling. Did he really need to change to make Audrey happy? It wasn't making _him_ happy and if Audrey really cared about him she wouldn't ask this of him. Wasn't love all about accepting each other as you are? Maybe they were doing it wrong, this relationship thing. It seemed to him that a loving, trusting relationship was far from what they had and if they had to push it so much maybe it wasn't right. He'd have to break things off with Audrey, Jay realised. It wasn't what he wanted, not anymore.

Feeling better after he had made up his mind, Jay closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Evie, feeling her warm breath brush against his neck. It felt so incredibly natural, her being in his arms, that he didn't even think about it. It was like an instinct. He felt her arm move from its place where it rested on his chest and wrap around his waist. He let himself drift off, feeling nothing but the light weight on his stomach and the soft curls spilling over his shoulder.

That night he dreamt of himself and Audrey having a picnic in the field. He was sitting behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, her hands resting on his own. He couldn't see her face from behind, naturally, though he knew it was her (you know that sleep certainty you get during a dream when you know something is what it is, even though you've got no proof?). But for some odd reason Audrey's hair wasn't its natural light brown colour.

It was a deep blue.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I wanted to update sooner but the site had problems and I couldn't access my stories.**

Okay, before we begin I just wanted to say a **HUGE** thank you to **_everyone_** who has favourited, followed and reviewed my story. I honestly didn't expect so much support and interest, so **THANK YOU**! I appreciate it _very, very much_ and it makes me _so happy_ whenever I see a new pop-up in my e-mail :))

I also wanted to reply to some of the reviews you guys left me on the last chapter, but seeing as they were posted by Guests, it was not possible, so I'll answer them here if you don't mind.

To _VengefulGuest:_ Oh My God, your review made such a big smile appear on my face, you don't even know! J I HUGELY appreciate the fact that you took the time to leave me such a long review, because it really shows interest in what I do and that's the aspiration of any trying writer. Thank you _so much_ for the compliments and everything you wrote, it made me really happy to know that someone liked my story this much! I send you my best, best wishes!

To _XxxBrEndAxxX_ _:_ I am so glad you like my story, thank you so much for the sweet review you left me! Just so you know, I could _NEVER_ get bored by a long review, on the contrary, I feel very appreciated and loved when someone takes the time to write me one. So never think you're rambling or whatever, know that I'd be more than happy to hear _anything_ you have to say :)) (that goes to all my reviewers, by the way) I wish you all the best! :)

* * *

 **Chapter** **5** **.**

 _There had been a ball organised at Auradon for Ben's 17th birthday. There had been grand preparations, but everything had been arranged in time and the night of the event had finally arrived._

 _Evie stepped into the huge ballroom wearing a deep red knee-length dress with a fan-out skirt, her hair falling freely in waves over her slim shoulders and cascading down her back. The music was on and there were a lot of couples dancing on the floor already. She saw Mal and Ben swaying in the middle of the room with him gazing lovingly into her big jade eyes, and felt an enormous rush of happiness and affection for her friend. Mal definitely deserved to be loved and Ben was more than perfect for her._

 _As the blue-haired girl headed for the table her friends were sitting on (well, only Carlos and Jane were sitting down at the moment, the others were all on the dance floor, but they were discussing something and seemed so engrossed in the conversation that Evie smiled, glad that those who were having a good time), she saw Doug who was weaving his way through the dancing couples, making his way towards her, as it seemed. When he reached her, he asked for the next dance and Evie noticed the previous melody's final notes were just dying down. Graceful as ever, she gladly accepted and led him to the dance floor. Her and Doug had become good friends, after all, and she liked spending time with him, he was good company. The two danced through the next song and when it ended Evie thanked her partner for the dance with the intention of heading back to the table. But as she turned around, she found herself face to face with Jay who had approached her with his usual grin before she had had the chance to sit down._

 _„You know how long I've been waiting to dance with you?" He questioned playfully, offering her his hand, which she immediately accepted, and the two began swaying to the new melody filling the ballroom._

 _The floor had mostly emptied up by now except for a few other couples but Evie didn't even notice. Her eyes were trained on Jay's, as he draped her arms around his neck, leaving them to rest there, while he wound his own around her small waist, and she clung to his broad shoulders unable to keep the smile from forming on her face. They danced so closely together, it was like a dream. He pulled her closer, tightening his grip around her frame, and she buried her nose into his shoulder, inhaling his unique scent. She felt all fuzzy being so close to him, his smell intoxicated her and she thought vaguely that this must be what drug addicts felt like._

 _To Evie's utmost horror, the song was slowing to an end. If only there was a way for this moment to last forever… As the final accords played out, she took a small step back, not fully backing out of Jay's grasp but just enough to be able to look up at him with an unvoiced question reflected in her eyes._ The song is over. Should we end this dance now? _Unsurprisingly, Jay immediately caught what she meant (as always, he was able to read her like a book) and his eyes flashed with mischief, before his look turned incredulous, scandalised even._

 _„Over my cold dead body." He deadpanned before grinning wildly and pulling her back for a second dance, as her heart began doing flips._

 _As they danced Jay spun her around so that her back was pressed up against his chest and when Evie lifted her eyes and tilted her head back to look at him over her shoulder, he leant in and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. His lips were warm and soft and Evie could've easily pulled away but she didn't. Instead, she turned her head a bit more, so she could kiss him fully on the lips and with her heart she decided that she wouldn't be the one to break this kiss, not in a million, not even if her lungs were screaming for air. After a while, but still way too soon in her opinion, Jay moved away but he stayed close to her, their lips lingering only a breath apart. They smiled at each other affectionately and it was the most intimate thing ever, as he twirled her around and they continued dancing._

* * *

Evie awoke with a start. _It was only a dream_ , she thought sadly. The notion almost made tears well up in her eyes, she wished _so much_ for it to be real. The dream had been so vivid, she could almost feel Jay's lips on her own, feel his arms encircling her waist, keeping her steady. Then, with a jolt she realised that something _was_ , in fact, gripping her waist. Looking down, Evie saw a pair of strong tan arms wrapped around her middle and that's when she remembered where she was. She almost face-palmed. _Movie night, that's right._ And though she didn't exactly remember falling asleep in this position, she couldn't wish for a better awakening.

Careful not to move too much, Evie laid her head back on Jay's chest, which was slowly rising and falling with every steady breath he took, and slightly craned her neck, so she could look at his face. He looked so peaceful and damn right angelic in his sleep, she sighed silently, thinking she could watch over him for hours without ever getting bored. Reaching out cautiously, she gently removed a lock of hair from his forehead, before withdrawing her hand and laying it back on his ribcage, feeling his heart drum against the tips of her fingers.

Thank God they still had a few more hours to sleep, Evie thought, noticing the soft light of dawn just beginning to creep through the window, as she closed her eyes wanting to focus only on Jay while she still had the chance – she listened to his calm breathing, inhaled his scent and was fully aware of his firm arms, which were still lingering around her waist, not loosening their grip even a little bit, not even in his sleep.

 _And it's a good thing too_ , she thought with a faint smile right before she drifted off to sleep again, _because I've already fallen in more ways than one._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

Mal groaned slightly as her pale green eyes cracked open. Rubbing a hand over her face to ward the remains of sleep away, she looked over to her right at the digital clock perched on Carlos's nightstand. 12:06 PM. Thank God it was Saturday, she thought sleepily. Then she remembered she had plans with Ben later in the afternoon and the notion made a huge happy smile blossom on her face, waking her up completely _. Man, I can't believe I'm so in love, this is crazy,_ she shook her head, making her purple tresses bounce.

The silence filling the room told her that she was the first one awake. It didn't surprise her much, the boys could sleep like the dead and Evie was anything but an early riser unless circumstances demanded it. Lifting her body so that she could sit up straight, Mal glanced around the room, taking note of Carlos's platinum blond head sticking out from the foot of the bed, being the only part of him she could see in her current position. Turning her head to the left, however, Mal's eyes widened and simultaneously so did her smile, which became so wide, it could easily split her face in half.

With a sharp intake of breath, Mal's hand immediately shot up to cover her mouth before she could squeal and wake everyone up, hence totally ruining the morning for her blue-haired friend, which was the last thing she wanted to do. Lowering her hand in a couple of seconds when she had calmed down, Mal almost giggled in glee, as her eyed roamed over the sleeping couple on the other bed.

Evie lay snuggled up against Jay's side with her head buried in the crook of his neck, her blue locks spilling over his chest and the pillow, while Jay's arm was looped protectively over her waist, his head resting lightly on top of hers. They looked so cute, so _right_ for each other in that moment, that Mal was now thoroughly convinced that they _had_ to end up together no matter what (not that she didn't think so the minute Evie confessed her feelings to her) and that she would go out of her way to help that happen. God, she was so thrilled for her friend right now, she wanted more than anything for her to be happy, for them _both_ to be happy, _together_ , like she was with Ben. And it was clear in her head that no one could make Evie or Jay happier than they could make each other.

Silently creeping to the foot of her bed (well, Carlos's bed technically), Mal sneaked a hand onto the blond's shoulder, rubbing it lightly in order to wake him up gently. When he felt it, Carlos stirred, opening his eyes slowly, and turned his head to look for the owner of the female hand on his left shoulder. Seeing it was Mal, he opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly cut off by Mal's hand quickly slapping over his mouth before he could make a sound. The purple-haired girl put a finger to her lips, signifying him to be quiet, before shifting her eyes to the other bed and nodding her head pointedly at the sleeping couple.

Carlos's gaze followed Mal's and his eyebrows shot up as soon as it landed on Jay and Evie's forms. Looking back at Mal and seeing the smirk on her face, he too let a grin cross his features, the two of them sharing a conspiring look. They would have to help their friends realise they were meant for each other. With a light nudge from Mal, Carlos got up slowly, gathering Dude in his arms, while Mal got off the bed, and the two of them padded softly to the door, grabbing their shoes along the way, thankful for the fact that all of them had fallen asleep in their clothes the night before. With one last glance back at the other two and another shared smile, both of them slipped through the door, closing it silently behind them.

* * *

About an hour after Mal and Carlos had sneaked out of the room (Mal skipping off to Ben's room and Carlos heading for the Computer Center of the school), Jay's eyelids fluttered open and he stirred, not yet fully aware of his suroundings. A low feminine moan made him cease his movements at once as his eyed darted down to the bluenette in his arms, only to find a little crease forming between her slightly furrowed eyebrows.

Evie let out an unhappy groan when she felt her pillow moving around. Was there an earthquake or something? If that was the case, she'd have to jump up and find a good hiding spot immediately. But she was _so comfortable_ … She didn't want to move at all. Her nose scrunched up in discontent and she whined, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed.

Jay couldn't help but laugh in endearment at Evie's childishness. It was very adorable. The sound rumbled deeply in his chest, making it vibrate underneath her open palm.

Yep, it was definitely an earthquake. The whole bed was shaking now. Evie risked to crack an eye open and check if the ceiling was about to fall on her head but instead her gaze was met with Jay's smiling brown eyes. Now fully awake, Evie let out a small laugh, thinking about the ridiculousness of it all. _Earthquake, yeah right_. She would've probably been embarrassed had it been someone else by her side, but with Jay she had no worries whatsoever.

„Morning, Trouble." He said with a smirk, tugging playfully on one of her blue curls, as they both rised up to a sitting position.

„Morning." Evie yawned and then looked around, noticing the other bed was empty and that they were alone in the room. „Or more like afternoon." She noted, realising that if Mal and Carlos had already woken up and even left, then it must be rather late.

Jay's head was somewhere else though. Looking at Evie, he was now becoming strangely aware of the fact that now that she was out of his arms, he desperately wanted her to be back in them again. It was so weird, it wasn't like they hadn't slept next to each other before, they _had_ , on many occasions, especially while they were still on the Isle. It was kind of a thing they had created over time, whenever one of them had problems or needed comfort, they would sneak into the other's room and sleep together, so that they wouldn't have to deal alone. But he had never felt like _this_.

Turning back to face Jay, Evie noticed he was looking at her oddly.

„What is it?" She asked, fighting the urge to run a hand over her face and hair. Man, she must look like a total mess.

„Nothing." He hurried to say, which left the girl rather unconvinced. Her hair was probably sticking out all over the place. Well, at least he was considerate enough not to mention it. „Are you hungry?" Jay asked, hoping to change the topic, after seeing that she didn't quite believe him entirely.

„Yeah, let's go get lunch." Evie agreed, dropping the subject, thankful for the fact that she had a comb in her purse.

They both got up and after Jay pulled on his boots and Evie ran a quick brush through her hair, they headed out the door.

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't plan to write this chapter originally, but** XxxBrEndAxxX **'s** **review on the last one prompted me to add it, so some credit there :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

A couple of days later Evie was sitting alone at one of the wooden tables in the yard of the school. It was lunch time and she wasn't really supposed to be alone, but Ben had stolen Mal away for another picnic by the lake (this was becoming a regular thing for them and in truth Evie had been glad to let her friend run off with her boyfriend, as she knew how her smile was always brighter after a date with her prince) and Carlos and Jay were God knows where, but they had to eat too, she figured, so she was waiting to see if they would appear and come have lunch with her.

„Hello, beautiful." Someone called out behind her back and Evie almost smiled until it registered in her head that the sound of the voice was nowhere near as deep as she wanted it to be.

„What do you want, Chad?" Evie asked coldly, her face turning to stone the moment she saw who she was talking to, and she hurried to scoot away from him as the prince in question slid in the bench beside her without asking for permission.

After the confrontation that had occured between Chad and the four friends on Parent's Day, he had firmly been moved to Evie's no-no list of people. She didn't want anything to do with him anymore, she couldn't _believe_ that she had ever liked this stuck-up two-faced bastard, she definitely must've not been in her right mind. Then again, she had changed a lot since first coming to Auradon, she reasoned. Her priorities had shifted entirely without her mother's influence and now she was gradually coming to terms with who she was, while also beginning to accept not only the fact that it was impossible to please everyone but that she didn't have to either.

„Aren't you happy to see me?" Chad asked, flashing her a brilliant smile, which, Evie thought, would've truly been charming, had it not been his horrible personality.

„Not really." She told him, shifting her gaze away, willing to look anywhere but him.

„You should be nicer to me." Chad said evenly and even though Evie wasn't looking at him she could tell by the slight hint of a cruel note weaving itself in his voice that he wasn't smiling anymore. What she didn't understand was how Chad could hate what she was so much one moment and then want to be around her the next. _Damn, it's like he's bipolar or something,_ Evie thought with a sigh escaping her lips.

„Chad, I don't feel like arguing at the moment." She stated, turning to face him, wishing he'd just drop it and leave her in peace. An uneasy feeling was beginning to form in her stomach, but it was still too small for her to worry about it.

„Who's arguing?" Chad asked, the smile returning to his face, though it was more of a smirk now. „I just came to talk to you."

„Well, _I_ don't want to talk to _you_." Evie responded, her hand reaching for her bag, which was sitting on the table, ready to stand up and leave, since Chad didn't seem very keen on leaving her alone. However, before she could take it, the blond's own hand shot out and grabbed the purse from underneath her palm, swiftly sliding it away and out of her reach.

„Chad, give me my bag." Evie demanded, the uneasiness in her belly starting to grow at his actions. It was one thing to annoy her, which she could take, albeit unwillingly, but this was bordering on harassment. Mal might be able to deal with this, but Evie was not as bold as her friend was and although she definitely wasn't helpless, she knew that she and Carlos weren't as street smart as Jay and Mal were.

„I don't see the one who's gonna make me." The prince said arrogantly, and Evie put on a stern face, hoping desperately that she hadn't let him see what was going on inside her head. In no way was she going to appear weak in front of this bastard.

„Turn around." A deep voice boomed out behind the blond prince and Evie immediately felt an enormous rush of relief at the familiarity of it. Chad's little smirk faded and his eyes shifted as he turned his head to the side to face the source of the sound. His light blue gaze clashed with Jay's dark brown one, which varied somewhere between irritation and smugness. „Now you see him." He told the prince, raising his eyebrows challengingly with an unspoken ultimatum in his eyes. _Fight me or get lost._

Chad was about to retort something snarky right away but then his eyes fell on Jay's huge arms which were currently crossed angrily in front of his chest, and remembered how his shoulder had been sore for two days after the dirty thief had brutally rammed into it on that first day at the tourney field during practice. Now, as he stood tall behind the bench, Jay's whole stance radiated strength and authority and it made a look of disdain cross Chad's face, as he realised with fury that he was no match for the other boy. The fact that he couldn't do any damage to him made him want it even more.

The blond looked over at Evie, whose face gave away nothing, but her eyes shifted nervously between the two boys and a sudden thought crossed his mind. He grinned inwardly. _Fine._ If the thief wanted to protect his little princess so badly, then that's exactly where he'd hit him. Everyone had a weak spot and it seemed like he'd just figured out Jay's. He was the one who wanted to fight, after all. Fine, then so be it.

Satisfied with his inner musings, Chad sneered at Jay, giving a push to Evie's bag, so that it slid across the table and right into her arms.

„Lunch is over." He stated haughtily, as he stood up and slipped out from the space between the bench and the table. „Besides, I've got better things to do than to deal with _bandits_." Chad added over his shoulder, pronouncing the last word like it was filth, as he made his way towards the school.

Evie's gaze followed him until he entered the building and once he had disappeared inside, her shoulders sagged, making her realise just how tense she'd been the entire time. She felt Jay slide down next to her, occupying the space Chad had been sitting in only a minute ago.

„Thanks." Her voice was calm but Jay knew her well enough to notice the almost inexistant wavering in it. It made him even more pissed at Chad. He didn't like the guy in the first place, but after witnessing him bothering Evie, he felt down right homicidal.

„No problem." He replied, sending a grin in her direction and wiggling his eyebrows in hopes that it would make her smile. It did. He felt better instantly, it was like a weight lifted off his shoulders whenever she smiled. It was a crime, he decided, for her to be unhappy when smiling made her so radiant. And the only thing he loved more than her smile, he realised, was when she smiled at him.

„You know, Eve," Jay added after a while, giving her a pointed look. „Just say the word and I'll snap that punk in half." He told her and she laughed, the melody ringing sweetly in his ears. _It's a good thing she doesn't realise how dead serious I am._

„I'll keep that in mind, Jay." She said, appreciating greatly that she had such a good friend who was willing to protect her and took care of her the way Jay did (and although she was secretly hoping one day they could be more, she never wanted to lose this, their friendship was way too important to her, even more so than a possible relationship). The truth was that Evie loved Mal very, _very_ dearly but in all honesty, Jay was her best friend. He always had been.

„Good." Jay said satisfied. He knew Evie would come to him if she had any problems, or at least he very much hoped so. The two of them looked to the right when they saw Carlos approaching.

„Hey, what's going on?" The younger boy smiled, sitting across from Jay and Evie and biting into the green apple he had in his hand.

„Nothing." Jay and Evie replied in unison, after which they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

„Mhm, okaay…" Carlos mumbled, raising his eyebrows pointedly and looking away, as if he had just entered a mad house and two of the craziest patients inside had come up to greet him. Then again, those two had always been a little bit crazy, especially around each other, Carlos thought, smiling at his friends, who were still giggling.

The three of them talked until the bells sounded and it was time to go to lessons. Carlos and Evie stood up and were about to head to the school when they realised Jay wasn't with them. Turning around, they saw he was still sitting in his place.

„You coming, bro?" Carlos asked looking back and forth between Jay and Evie.

„Nah, I've got practice in a few." Jay explained, waving his hand dismissively. „You guys go."

„Okay." Carlos replied and Evie sent a small smile in Jay's direction, before her and Carlos began walking towards the building.

Five seconds later Jay felt two dainty hands on his shoulders and a head of blue curls leaned over one of them to give him a gentle peck on the cheek.

„Thanks again." Evie murmured, her soft breath tickling Jay's ear, making an unfamiliar emotion shoot up his spine, before she skipped along happily to catch up with Carlos.

No one understood why Jay was smiling to himself for no reason for the rest of the day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8.**

„Babe, wait up!"

Jay turned around to the sight of his girlfriend making a small dash towards him in the middle of the school hallway in order to catch up, which looked rather ridiculous in the high heels she was perpetually wearing. He was kind of glad to see her, he wanted to talk to her as well. When she finally reached him, they continued walking side by side in normal pace.

„So, there's something I wanted to discuss—" Audrey began but then she stopped abruptly, looking at him weirdly with a small frown on her face and halting by his side which made him stop walking too. Jay raised a questioning eyebrow at her and tilted his head slightly in confusion. „Jay-Jay," She smiled rather forcedly. „What happened to your hair?" She asked, the smile on her face only widening. It was so unnatural, almost eerily so, that Jay actually felt a little spooked. Then he remembered he hadn't bothered to put his hair up.

„Ah, yeah," He said, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, while she looked at him expectantly. Was he _purposefully_ trying to ruin all of her progress? It was no easy task to make a prince out of him and if he didn't cooperate with her, things would be frustratingly more difficult. „I had practice, so…" He trailed off not really sure how to explain himself. Then he realised he didn't have to.

„Listen, Audrey," Jay began, remembering the decision he had come to several nights ago. „I wanted to talk to you about something."

„Oh, that reminds me!" Audrey exclaimed, energetically breaking into a walk again, making Jay trail behind her after she cut him off so abruptly. „That thing I wanted to discuss with you." She anounced, shooting him a serious look. „It's very important to me." Audrey told him softly, using her sweetest voice, the one she used whenever she wanted something from her daddy and he always complied. Jay sighed inwardly.

„What is it?" He asked curiously and she smiled at him lovingly, taking his hands into hers.

„Boo, I think it'd be best if you got some distance from those friends of yours." She stated, her voice pure silk, as she rubbed circles over his knuckles. Jay's eyebrows furrowed and he shot her an incredulous look. What the hell? As he opened his mouth to retort that there was no way in hell he was doing anything of the sort, Audrey interrupted him again, sensing that he was about to disagree.

„It's not forever!" She exclaimed, trying to rush out the words before he could speak and portray her request in the best light possible. „I just think some separation would do you good, you know? New people, new habits…" She cooed, smiling convincingly, waiting for his features to soften in acceptance or at least in contemplation, only, they didn't.

Jay was standing there, listening silently, intent on hearing out what Audrey had to say before breaking things off with her. I mean, he had already made his dicision but _now_ he was absolutely certain it was the right one. He waited to see if she had anything else to say.

Noticing that her little speech wasn't having the desired effect she had in mind, Audrey continued, heavily bent on persuading him to cut off his ties with those rogues he called friends. After all, a man is known by the company he keeps, so there was no way for her to mold him into the royalty she wanted while he kept those, those… _villains_ company.

„I mean, not that you don't know what's best for you," She went on sweetly, trying on a new tacitc. „But maybe you could do me a little favor and stay away from them for a little while?" She asked tenderly, the smile still plastered on her face. It made Jay wonder how her cheeks didn't hurt. „Especially that witch Evie." Audrey muttered as an afterthought under her breath. Unfortunately for her, Jay still heard it. His whole body went rigid in an instant.

„What?" He growled lowly and his voice was so cold and angry that Audrey actually felt chills run down her back. His eyes flashed with fury and he didn't notice how his hands clenched into fists. Audrey had never seen this side of him. It scared the crap out of her, she had no idea he could even get like this. In truth, he almost never did, but when it came down to his friends (and mostly Evie, although it had never come to his attention before), he was not willing to stand by while someone threatened or insulted them. And Evie… hell, he wasn't going to let _anyone_ talk bad about her. „What did you say?"

„I—" Audrey stuttered. Jay's darkened gaze really intimidated her. „I didn't—" She tried again but her voice faltered once more.

„You know what, Audrey?" Jay said evenly, trying to stay calm. „I think we're done." He told her, his voice still and unwavering.

„But—" Audrey gasped, this was not what she had expected at all. To her utmost surprise, Jay didn't even wait for her to answer. He just turned on his heel and stormed away from her.

Jay's anger got the better of him. He didn't even care what Audrey had to say, whether she agreed to the break-up or not – he was done with her and this was the end of it. He decided to ditch, he wasn't in the mood for lessons right now and the bells had sounded more than fifteen minutes ago anyway. It was a good thing that the hallway was mostly empty, everyone was in class or outside, and Jay was thankful because he didn't want to rave in front of an audience.

Once he reached the big entrance doors, Jay stepped outside to get some air but he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Ben and Mal standing to his right. Mal was leaning her back against her locker and Ben was standing in front of her with his arms lightly resting on her waist, while her index fingers were hooked through two of the loops of either side of his jeans (normally he'd wear trousers but Mal was really starting to rub off on him).

„Hey, Jay." Mal called out once she spotted her friend coming out and as soon as he turned his head to face her, she noticed something was off about him. Jay took a deep breath to steady his nerves, though he had mostly calmed down already and offered her and Ben a lop-sided smile which seemed a little forced to Mal.

„Hey." He echoed, directing it at Mal and then nodded at Ben in greeting, who returned it with a small smile of his own. „What are you guys doing here?" Jay asked, turning his body so that he faced his friends, though he didn't take a step towards them.

„Free period." Mal responded. „What's up with you?" She asked suspiciously, though it didn't sound in the light tone of voice she used. Jay's stance was really tense and his smile didn't quite reach his eyes like it normally did. Mal wondered what was wrong with him, she was a little worried, she had to admit.

„Nothing. Don't worry about it." Jay shrugged it off with a shake of his head. He was really itching to talk to Evie right now, he always did after something like this. „Listen, I've got to go. Talk later." He told Mal, giving her an apologetic smile, then he nodded at the fair-haired boy again and walked off. Ben turned his head to look at Mal, whose eyes followed Jay until he was out of her sight.

„What do you think happened?" Ben asked, leaning in and gently nuzzling her neck, making her sigh in content.

„I'm not sure but I bet it's got something to do with Audrey." Mal replied, turning her head, so she could bump her nose against Ben's temple affectionately. There was no doubt in her mind that Jay's behaviour must have something to do with Little Miss Prissy, I mean, what else could it be? He couldn't have gotten into a fight with Carlos or Evie; it was unlikely for him to have problems with the team, everyone liked Jay because of his light personality, he was just a happy-go-lucky kind of guy; trouble in class was possible, but he didn't really take those kind of things to heart, so that just left Audrey. Man, and here Mal thought this girl couldn't get any more unappealing.

„You think they're having trouble with their relationship?" Ben spoke against her skin, his voice slightly muffled as his lips moved up her neck and rested on the pulse-point below her ear.

 _God, I hope so,_ Mal thought internally, an image of Jay and Evie snuggled up together flashing though her mind, but she didn't voice her thoughts out loud. Instead, she glided her hands across Ben's stomach and up his chest until her arms were wrapped around his neck, and gently tugged him closer, as he moved his head so that their foreheads were touching. He smiled lovingly at the girl in his arms and brushed his nose against hers tenderly, causing her to scrunch it up in an affectionate manner.

„I don't know, but I'm glad that we're not." Mal said, looking up at him through her long dark lashes with a soft look on her face. Moments like this made her wonder how in the world she had gotten so lucky.

Ben, on the other hand, just smiled knowingly and leaned in to press a gentle kiss to her lips, thinking about how much trouble he would be in if anyone realised that he was ready to give up the whole kingdom for just one of Mal's kisses.

* * *

 **A/N: Again, I wanted to thank** XxxBrEndAxxX **for the wonderful long review she left me on the last chapter, thank you so much, once again you've managed to put a huge smile on my face :)**

 **Also, I've been getting requests for more Mal/Ben, so I hope you're happy.**

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a note if you can :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9.**

Jay wandered around the yard until all of the classes had finished, he had blown off the whole day. It would probably land him in detention, he realised, or he'd have to undergo some other sort of punishment from Fairy Godmother for skipping the lessons but he couldn't really be bothered to care much at the moment. He went to sit on a table with a good view of the entrance (literally on top of the table, not on the bench next to it, though that was also empty) and when the last bells sounded at 1 P.M. and the students began streaming out, he became more vigilant in order not to miss the crown of blue hair amidst all the others. Soon enough she appeared and Jay hopped off the table and headed towards her.

Evie was incredibly pleased with herself. She had gotten an A+ on a biology test that day and she was practically beaming, not letting the paper out of her hand for even a moment. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. It took all of the strength she possessed not to bounce around, and it made Ben and Mal, who were trailing behind her hand in hand, smile happily at their friend who was practically bubbling with excitement.

When she noticed that Jay was approaching with a smile on his face, Evie squealed and ran towards him, flinging herself in his arms. He caught her with ease, wrapping his arms around her middle and lifted her up, leaving her legs to dangle in the air. His nose buried in her hair and he breathed her in. Man, something was happening to him lately, it was like he craved her. He had always needed her and being around her always made him breathe more easily but recently it was like he wasn't himself when she was away from him for too long.

A mirthful laugh ripped through his chest at her obvious happiness and he felt like nothing could bring him down when the girl in his arms shined so brightly. It was exactly what he needed after the previous events, he didn't even need to talk to her anymore, just holding her in his arms made him feel infinitely better. He was too preoccupied to notice Ben and Mal exchange knowing smiles behind them.

„Well, if I had known you would miss me so much I wouldn't have skipped class." Jay laughed, putting Evie down and making sure she was steady on her feet before removing his hands from her waist a little unwillingly. She just smiled widely, waving the paper in her hand under his nose.

„A+!" Evie yelled happily and everyone laughed along with her.

Mal gave Ben a small nudge in the ribs with her elbow and when he looked at her questioningly she nodded her head to the right, signaling him that she wanted them to go and leave Jay and Evie alone. He caught her meaning immediately and nodded back, snaking an arm around her shoulders, while she reached up with her gloved hand and threaded their fingers. Then they slowly and quietly stepped away and disappeared into the crowd, as Ben leaned down to whisper something in Mal's ear to which she just chuckled and placed a subtle kiss on his jaw.

Meanwhile Evie was telling Jay all about the lessons he had skipped, and while he wasn't very interested in the material he had missed, he was more than willing to listen to her talk about pretty much anything, so he didn't really mind. When they noticed Ben and Mal were not there anymore, him and Evie headed to the cafeteria for lunch, assuming that that's where their friends had gone off to. Entering the room, they spotted the couple sitting on a table to the right along with Carlos and after they got their food, they headed to sit with them.

„So, Jay, not to pry or anything, but what happened this morning?" Mal questioned after a while, popping a french fry into her mouth. Although she looked nonchalant, she truly wanted to make sure things were alright with him. And, hey, if there really had been some trouble with Audrey then that was just a bonus. At the question Evie immediately threw Jay a concerned look and when her gaze met his, he hurried to reassure her through it that there was nothing to worry about.

„Me and Audrey broke up." He said, shifting his eyes over to Mal, who had to fight very hard with herself in order to stop the enormous grin threatening to break out on her face. _Finally_ , she thought in delight. _Now maybe he can focus on what's right in front of him,_ Mal reckoned with a small smirk, looking discreetly over at Evie to see her reaction.

 _They broke up…_ The thought hit the bluenette like a ton of bricks. Her eyes widened slightly and the corners of her mouth wanted to shoot upwards but she regained her composure with lightning speed, not letting her face betray her. I mean, what kind of a horrible friend would she be if she let the others know she was happy about the fact that her best friend had just broken up with his girlfriend? He needed her support right now, she knew that and she was ready to offer it, but she just couldn't help it. What she felt was indescribable – he was finally _free_. She almost couldn't believe it, it was too good to be true. She was so happy, she could swear her heart was going to burst right out of her chest.

„Man, are you alright?" Ben clapped his hand down on Jay's shoulder supportively and the other boy nodded back.

„Yeah, it wasn't gonna last anyway." He shrugged and they changed the subject.

„You guys wanna have another movie night this weekend?" Carlos suggested, munching away on a brownie.

„Yeah, why not?" Mal agreed, pushing the tray away from her since she was done with her lunch and leaned back in her chair, pulling Ben's arm over her shoulder. He just tugged her closer to his side.

„Hey, Ben, would you like to join us this time?" Evie asked, smiling at the couple. She knew Mal would be overjoyed and, after all, Ben _was_ the one who had given them a chance in the first place, it was about time they included him in their little group. Mal threw her a small look of gratitude.

„Really?" Ben asked a little surprised. It was true that he had bonded closely with everyone at the table by now but he hadn't really expected them to accept him into their group. He didn't mind it, really, because he understood that they had grown up together and trusted each other like no one else, so Evie's offer caught him off guard, but also made him very happy. He loved Mal but he also considered Evie, Jay and Carlos his friends and if they were to welcome him, he wouldn't betray them.

„Yeah, that's a great idea, Eve." Jay agreed sharing a smile with the girl, before grinning at Ben.

„Alright." Ben smiled at the others before turning his head to place a kiss on Mal's temple who smiled broadly.

„Okay, we'll talk details later, you guys, now I have to go." Evie announced, turning around in her chair to grab her bag, which was hanging off the back of it. She stood up to leave, her arm brushing against Jay's in the process, who involuntarily shot a sad look in her direction, which made Evie giggle slightly. He looked like a lost puppy, it was completely adorable. It made her chest flutter with delight.

„Where are you going?" Mal asked.

„I have to go dump all of _this_ in our room," Evie said, patting lightly the bag full of books, before slinging it over her shoulder. „And then I'm meeting Lonnie. Apparently she's got a date and she asked me to help her with her outfit and make-up." Evie told Mal and the two shared a girly smile at the notion of their now also friend going out with someone.

„Okay, have fun." Mal said with a playful raise of her eyebrows.

„I will." The bluenette sang with a small wink directed at all of them, which made them all laugh. „Bye, guys." She said with a small wave and her eyes darted over everyone before resting slightly longer on Jay.

„Bye, Eve." Jay offered with a smile, while Ben nodded at Evie and Carlos waved back at her, both in goodbye, before the girl turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.

She headed straight to the room she and Mal shared, throwing the backpack on her bed and pulling out one of the drawers of her dresser in search of her make-up kit. _Wait_ , she thought halting her movements momentarily, _Lonnie said she had her own kit_. Closing the drawer again, Evie decided she didn't need to take anything with her and she took a very quick glance in the tall mirror before heading out.

Evie stepped out of the room closing the door softly behind her and turned around just in time to get pushed roughly against the wall. Two hands held her non-too-gently by her upper arms and she looked up to stare at a pair of cold blue eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: You guys are so sweet and supportive with your reviews that it makes me want to update faster. Thank you for all the love! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 10.**

„Chad, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Evie yelled at him angrily but a sense of dread formed in her stomach as she involuntarily took note of the fact that the hall was completely empty except for the two of them. The blond just gave her a smile which made the hairs on her arms stand up.

„Having fun." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, his fingers digging painfully into her skin, as her shirt was short-sleeved.

„Let me go." Evie ordered firmly, struggling against him, but unfortunately he was stronger than she had imagined him to be. „Chad, let me go!" She shouted, her voice almost cracking as dread quickly turned into terror when he moved to trap her successfully against his body and his smile turned into a cruel smirk.

„I thought you liked me." Chad mocked her, leaning his face closer to hers, making Evie draw back in disgust as further away from him as possible, though she didn't have much space left to move, seeing as the back of her head was already pressed agaist the wall. She knew if he kept moving forward she would have nowhere to run. Thankfully, his face stopped a few inches away from hers. „I thought you wanted a prince. I mean, you were practically all over me in the beginning." He continued to taunt her and Evie let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes, trying to stay calm and think. _Focus, Evie, come on. Don't freeze, you've got to think of something._

Opening her eyes with a new-found resolve, she stared him straight in the eye, refusing to look down or away from him, refusing to appear weak.

„You may be a prince by blood," Evie stated glaring up at him. „But you are a villain by heart." She spat at him, once again flinging herself with all her might agaist his body, shoving his chest with her hands which were free from the elbows down in an attempt to break free from his hold, but he restrained her, moving his hands to grip her wrists tightly as he realised she could still use her hands against him. The rest of her body he pressed to the wall with his own, completely diabling her.

„Well, it's a good thing you're into villains then, right? Like that bandit of yours? You seem to like _him_ well enough." Chad told her, his smile vanishing. Evie almost felt sick. Her breathing increased and she was trying very hard not to panic.

„He is _nothing_ like you." Evie hissed at him, appalled at the idea of a comparison between Jay and the monstrous being in front of her.

„You're right." Chad leaned down to whisper in her ear and she shuddered, instinctively shying away. "I'm much better." He muttered and Evie let out a strangled laugh.

„Yeah, only in your twisted dreams." She said, jerking her head away from him. She knew she had to think clearly in order to get away from him. Then she remembered something, and focused, trying to feel if the pressure of the small object was in the back pocket on her skinny jeans. It was there. The notion almost made her sigh in utter relief but she stopped herself, not wanting Chad to know that she had something in mind. The plan forming in her head gave her some more courage. „Now let. me. go." Evie demanded in a threatening voice, ready to act. Chad simply laughed at her.

„I'm sorry, _princess_ ," He said, using the term mockingly, as opposed to the affectionate manner in which Jay called her the same and Evie couldn't help but notice how different a word could sound from two completely different pairs of lips. „But there's no one here to save you this time." The blond sneered and Evie winced as he almost crushed her wrists in his fists. She was more than certain that was gonna bruise.

„That's where you're wrong." Evie said defiantly and Chad's face immediately fell, as he almost gave in to the urge to check behind his back for Jay's looming figure. Evie carefully felt around with her leg. Chad had stuck his knee between her thighs to keep her in place, which left her own right leg in between his. „I can save myself." She hissed before bringing her knee up abruptly and kicking him right in the groin, which caused him to stumble backwards, releasing her in the process, and double over in pain.

Evie took the opportunity to reach into her back pocket and pull out her mirror, turning its reflective surface towards the blond, who currently sported a nasty snarl on his face and was struggling to stand up straight, ready to lunge at her.

„ _Mirror, mirror, help me fight, fling this jerk with all your might_." Evie chanted and a huge white beam came out of the small object in her hand, throwing Chad to the other end of the hall, where he hit his head against the wall and was rendered unconscious. The bluenette slowly let her hand drop by her side before cautiously approaching the limp body, the mirror still clutched defensively in her palm. When she saw that he was completely out, she pocketed the object before checking that his chest was rising and falling (she didn't want to feel guilty for killing the bastard after all) and quickly rushed down the stairs and along the hall of the lower floor towards Lonnie's room.

Evie stopped in front of the wooden door and took a moment to steady her breathing before lifting her hand up to knock. The door flung open and a very excited Lonnie dragged her into the room.

„Girl, I've been waiting for you!" The bruenette squealed happily, pulling Evie by the wrist without noticing how the other girl winced slightly at the contact, before laughing at the glee written all over Lonnie's face.

„Sorry if I'm late." Evie said and Lonnie waved her hand dissmissively.

„Nonsense, you're right on time." She told her with a bright smile. „Thank you so much for helping me, I'm so nervous." She said, turning around and heading to the open closet.

„There's no need. After I'm done with you, he won't be able to remember his own name when he sees you." Evie smiled confidently, following the other girl, who was now shuffling through the different dresses hanging in her closet.

The bluenette's gaze slipped down to her hands and she tenderly rubbed her fingers over her sore wrists, knowing that the redness which now dusted them lightly would be a soft lilac colour by the next morning.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11.**

Chad was more than pissed, he was livid. This little bitch got the better of him, how could she? How _dare_ she?! No one treated him and talked to him like that! His plan had backfired, which now made him want revenge for the humiliation she had put him through. His initial idea to mess with her just to get to Jay now turned into something else. He wanted to hurt _her_. And if the thief suffered along the way, then all the better.

But now he had practice. As he neared the field, Chad saw that some of the team were already warming up, Jay included. When he spotted the prince, the brunet scowled and Chad mirrored his expression. Then something else formed in the blond's mind, making him smirk. Maybe he'd be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Chad waited until practice was over and most of the team had headed back to their dorms or classes, before he approached Jay, who was sitting on the bleachers, tying up his boots. When someone's legs entered his line of vision, Jay looked up to find Chad standing there with an unreadable look on his face, and his lips turned into a frown.

„What do _you_ want?" Jay grunted, not really wanting to deal with this jerk. He still hadn't forgoten their last encounter. Not waiting for an answer, Jay got up swiftly and walked around him to leave.

„I just thought you'd be interested to know what me and Evie did last night." Chad's smug voice sounded behind him and at the sound of Evie's name Jay froze in his spot and his ears immediately perked up but he kept his back to the blond. Nevertheless, by how rigid his back had gone, Chad saw that his words had had the desired effect and his insides swelled with delight.

„Yeah, perhaps she failed to mention it to you but we had some wicked fun alright." He continued in a nonchalant tone as Jay very slowly turned around to glare at the prince, his hands clenching into fists, as he tried to keep his composure. He had a bad feeling about this. He wanted to yell at Chad, demand an explanation from him and if it turned out that the sleazy bastard had hurt her in any way, so help him, he was ready to pulverize him right on the spot. However, Jay didn't quite trust his voice at the moment, so he remained quiet, shooting daggers at the other boy. His hands were itching to punch something, preferably Chad's face.

„Don't worry, she enjoyed it just as much as I did." Chad taunted and Jay felt himself begin to shake with rage, his breathing rapidly increasing as his knuckles turned white from clenching his fists too hard. Then he halted abruptly, his eyes widening slightly as the filthy insinuation underlaying Chad's statement registered in his mind, and Jay lunged forward at him, a furious growl ripping out of his throat. He knocked him over and pinned him underneath him, ready to beat the shit out of him.

„I had her pressed up against the wall with my leg between her thighs while she moaned my name." Chad spat nastily, his smug smile unwavering as he opened his mouth to continue but the words died on his tongue when Jay's iron fist came crashing down on his face.

„Shut up!" He yelled enraged, not believing his ears. There was _no way_ Evie would do this! This guy was lying his ass off or, in the worst case scenario, he did something to Evie against her will. The notion of Chad's dirty hands anywhere near Evie's body made Jay want to break them off.

„She begged me not to stop. She wanted me to touch her," Chad went on, very pleased by the outcome of the situation. He'd handle a little pain if it meant getting him what he wanted. „To kiss her, to please her—" His sentence was cut off by Jay's fist coming in contact with his nose this time and the prince felt the warm blood trickle down his mouth. God, he only hoped it wasn't broken.

„Shut up! _That's not true_!" Jay roared, convinced that all of this was false. It couldn't be true… It just couldn't. Evie would never… And she hated Chad!

„Why are you so surprised?" The blond yelled at him, shoving Jay off of him with some difficulty and scrambling to put at least a foot of distance between them. „She always wanted a prince!" He shouted, putting a hand to his bleeding nose, which was now dripping on his shirt. „What, did you think she would go for the likes of you? A thief!" He sneered, glaring at the brunet, whose fuming expression faltered slightly.

Jay didn't know if Chad was aware of it or not but he had just hit his weakest spot. Jay _knew_ Evie would never go for him. She deserved so much better, she _deserved_ a prince. She was beautiful and intelligent, kind, loving, well-mannered, the list just went on forever, and he… he was just that, a thief. He would never be worthy of a creature as stunning as her.

The abrupt realisation hit him like a fire truck and knocked all the wind out of his chest. He _wanted_ to be worthy of her. He wanted her to be _his_ , he wanted to love her and protect her, to be hers and to make her happy. He wanted to be the one who put the smile on her face, who made her laugh, who took care of her. And most of all, he wanted her to want him back. Not as a friend but as something much more.

As soon as all of this dawned on him, things got a whole lot more personal. Perhaps Chad saw it in his eyes or in his posture, or perhaps he didn't, but he turned around and quickly deserted, leaving the other boy alone at the tourney field.

Jay's blinding fury had deflated somewhat, but he was still pissed off as hell. His throbbing and bloody knuckles didn't bother him even half as much as all the thoughts racing through his head at the moment. Evie, _his_ Evie, would never do something like this, especially with _Chad_ of all people, he had complete faith in her. But when the green monster of jealousy takes hold, doubt begins to creep within the soul even of the most self-assured. Jay didn't believe Evie would do this, he didn't want it to be true and deep down in his heart he knew it wasn't, but he was jealous and angry and wanted to hear what had happened from _her_ (if anything had happened _at all_ , he still doubted that Chad hadn't invented the whole thing just to rile him up).

He needed to find Evie and talk to her immediately.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Since some of you asked me really nicely, here's the next chapter :) Thank you for all the lovely reviews.**

 **I'm sorry to tell you that I won't be able to update as often as I do now in the near future, because I'm heading off to university and I'm gonna be busy with the move, but _don't worry_ , I'll continue writing and updating this story. I could never abandon you guys completely.**

 **Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 12.**

A knock on the door tore Evie away from the English essay she was currently working on and her and Mal shared a look before she stood up to get it.

„Hi, Jay." She smiled brightly as she stepped aside to let him into the room. His eyes went directly to the purple-haired girl lying down on her belly on Evie's bed.

„Mal, I'm sorry, could you leave us alone for a moment?" Jay asked and Mal nodded her head at his serious expression, pushing herself up and hopping off the bed.

„Sure." She didn't ask why, she just hoped Jay was finally going to make a move on Evie. Passing her friend on her way out, Mal smiled at her encouragingly and left, and the bluenette shut the door behind her.

„So what's up?" Evie asked, facing Jay and her smile quickly turned into a look of concern when she saw that his face was void of his ususl grin, the one she loved so very much. „What's wrong, Jay?" She quiestioned, taking a step towards him and her fingers twitched, as she longed to extend her hand and caress his face. He was never this serious, something was definitely wrong.

„Chad told me something and I don't know whether to believe it or not." Jay said, looking at her face with a mixture of sadness and anxiety, which only intensified when she blinked uneasily at the name he had mentioned.

 _Chad? Oh, God. Did he tell Jay he attacked me?_ , she wondered worriedly but then she reasoned with herself. _No, why would he admit to doing that? He knows Jay would probably kill him._

„He said you two had an encounter last night." Jay continued, worry and nervousness clawing at his chest. _So he knows,_ Evie thought and sighed dejectedly. No point in hiding it then.

„It was more like in the afternoon." She joked, trying to lighten the mood but it was to no avail as Jay just stared at her blankly.

„You mean… it's true?" Jay asked her bewildered, his eyebrows knitting together in shock and confusion.

„Yeah, but don't worry." Evie hurried to calm him. She hated it when he got troubled over her. „I didn't let him get too far." She stated with a small smile, not wanting him to worry about her but also a little proud of her accomplishment. She wanted Jay to know that she wasn't that weak or defenseless, that she could stand up for herself.

Jay's thoughts became even more mixed-up. Too far? Did that mean her and Chad really hooked up, but she stopped him before they… Jay didn't want to finish that sentence, not even in his mind. He needed to be absolutely certain about this.

„He said he had you pressed up against the wall and…" _and that you were moaning his name._ Jay finished in his head in bitterness and disgust, unwilling to speak the offensive statement out loud. It was completely ridiculous and he tried to shrug it off. He waited for her to laugh at the impossibility of it and firmly deny it, setting his mind at ease but her next statement caught him completely off guard.

„It's true." Evie admitted, casting her gaze down, a little ashamed by the fact that she had let Chad sneak up on her and gain the upper hand when she was not on alert, but to Jay's ears this confession sounded a whole lot different. _What…?_ The word echoed in his head, making his ears buzz unpleasantly. _She let him do those things to her?_ He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. The hurt he felt was so shocking it paralysed him. He felt the blood pulse in his temples.

„So…" Jay trailed off, his voice becoming hoarse as his throat threatened to close up. „He really…" He began but his voice cracked. Evie felt so bad at seeing him like this. It was overwhelming how much he cared for her. This is exactly why she hadn't told him about the accident in the first place, she knew he'd be worried sick, he always was when it came to her. Then suddenly anger flashed in his eyes.

„How could you, Evie?" Jay demanded, his voice stern but the wet anger in it made it waver. Confusion overtook Evie, as she didn't understand why he was so upset. Was he mad because she didn't tell him that Chad had attacked her? _Yeah_ , she thought bashfully, remembering that day in the yard _, I promised to tell him if Chad ever tried anything._

„Look, Jay, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I knew you would snap." She told him apologetically, reaching out for his hand but he sharply pulled away before she could touch it.

„Damn right I would snap! I can't believe this!" He yelled, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. This wasn't happening. „How could you be so stupid?!" Jay shouted, not realising what he had just said in his rage. How could she be with Chad after everything he had done to her?! But she confessed and Chad's words had proven to be true. Jay felt his heart shatter in his chest.

Evie felt like he had just slapped her across the face. That was her weak spot and he knew it, he knew she never felt smart enough. It was such a low blow that she suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

„Get out." She said lowly, feeling the stinging in her eyes, fully aware that in less than a minute she'd be in tears which she didn't want him to witness. Jay just looked at her startled, his anger forgotten for a moment, with a pained look on his face. „Get out!" Evie repeated more forcefully, gritting her teeth, and Jay lingered in his place for a second before brushing past her and storming out of the room.

As soon as the door swung shut, Evie burst into tears. She was barely able to make the few steps which separated her from her bed, before she collapsed on top of it, sending Mal's sketch-book tumbling to the ground along with the pencil which was resting on top of it.

Ten minutes later Evie was still sobbing into her pillow and she was so miserable, she didn't even hear the door open and gentle footsteps approach her shaking form. Her head snapped up when she felt a hand rub her back and she whirled around straight into the arms of a very concerned Mal, who immediately engulfed her friend into a hug and let her keep crying on her shoulder. She knew better than to ask what had happened but she was dead set on having a serious conversation with Jay once she had made sure Evie was alright, Mal thought angrily. She was his friend too but he had no right to make Evie cry, whatever had gone on between them.

 _Did he reject her feelings?_ , Mal wondered, running her fingers through her friend's blue locks in a comforting manner. She decided she'd wait until Evie had let it all out before figuring out what the hell was going on.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13.**

Mal let Evie cry huddled up in her arms until the bluenette was so exhausted that she fell asleep in her friend's embrace. Even though she was sleeping, Mal stayed by her side, unwilling to leave her, and the two girls lay side by side on Evie's bed, with Mal lazily threading her fingers through her friend's hair as she stared up at the floral pattern on the canopy above their heads.

She was seriously anxious to know what had occured between Jay and Evie to leave her in such a state and she was also quite worried. Jay and Evie never fought and I mean _never_. What could have happened? It must've been pretty damn serious.

A light knock on the door was heard before it swung open noiselessly (thank God the doors in the school didn't creek) and Ben popped his head inside the room. When his eyes landed on Mal, he smiled and opened his mouth to speak but the girl shook her head frantically motioning with her eyes to Evie, who was sleeping beside her. Once Ben noticed this, he nodded in understanding, although a confused look crossed his face, and waited while Mal carefully untangled herself from her friend and stood up, cautious not to wake her. Then she tiptoed to the door and placed a hand on Ben's chest, gently pushing him out of the room before following him and pulling the door closed behind her. She let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting her forehead against Ben's and letting her eyes slide shut.

„Are you okay?" He asked quetly, love and concern lacing his voice, as he reached out to take her hands in his larger ones and intertwined their fingers.

„ _I_ am. But Evie…" Mal trailed off, opening her jade eyes to gaze into her king's light green irises. „I don't know what's going on, I'm really worried. Her and Jay had a fight or something earlier, can you believe it?" She questioned, pulling her forehead away from his, her eyebrows shooting upwards, while Ben furrowed his and tilted his head to the side.

„That's not like them." He remarked in confusion, thinking about how close Jay and Evie were and how protective and careful they were with each other. Mal threw him a look in agreement which showed just how exasperated she was with the whole situation. _Yeah, my thoughts exactly._

„I know!" She exclaimed and then sighed defeatedly as Ben tugged her closer. „I'll just ask Evie about it when she wakes up."

„Don't pressure her, Mal." Ben told her tenderly, also concerned for the bluenette, partly because she was so important to Mal but also because she really was his friend too and he cared about her as well. „If they really had a quarrel, she's gonna be pretty torn up about it." He reasoned and Mal knew he was right.

„I know but I'm her friend, Ben." Mal told him sadly. „I can't watch her suffer. I don't want to. I need to know what happened, so I can help her." Her soft look suddenly became fierce and rather angry. „And then I'm gonna go and chase Jay with a hot poker." She muttered, making Ben laugh wholeheartedly (although he didn't doubt her ability to fulfil her threat, not in the least) and plant a small kiss on the tip of her nose.

„Alright." He consented, aware of the fact that he couldn't possibly talk Mal out of something she had set her mind to. „If there's any way I can help, let me know." Ben added seriously and Mal smiled, standing on her tiptoes to capture his lips.

„I will." She murmured against his mouth before biting his lower lip and then pulling away. „I'm gonna go back now, I don't want to leave her alone. See you tomorrow morning?" Mal asked, smiling at Ben, who nodded his head with a grin and leaned down to place one more peck on her lips before heading down the hall.

Mal re-entered the room and as she was carefully shutting the door behind her, she saw Evie stir before opening her eyes and lifting herself up slightly. She still had tear-streaks on her cheeks and she looked very, very exhausted but Mal knew it had nothing to do with a lack of sleep. Their eyes met and Mal approached the bed, sitting on the edge right next to Evie.

„Hey." The purple-haired girl muttered gently, as if speaking to a wounded animal to reassure it it was not her intention to hurt it.

„Hey." Evie replied quietly with a small smile tugging on her lips, before sighing softly and placing her head on her friend's shoulder, while Mal backed up so that her back was pressed against the headboard of the bed.

„Do you wanna talk about it?" Mal asked, heeding Ben's advice. She wasn't going to pressure Evie, well, not too much anyway, but she _was_ going to respect her decision whether or not she wanted to share her troubles with her. The two girls sat quietly for a moment before Evie opened her mouth to speak.

Mal had always been her closest confidant, sometimes even more so than Jay, because, I mean, come on, there were things she just couldn't or wouldn't want to talk to him about, like boys, beauty tips and other girly stuff he would just not be interested in, as was in his boyish nature. For those female talks, as well as the deepest conversations involving feelings and heartaches, she had Mal to turn to and that's exactly what she did (as did Mal whenever she had the need).

So Evie told her everything: about her encounter with Chad, how he had cornered her, their entire conversation, as well as how she had knocked him out in the end. Then she spilled about her argument with Jay and how confusing and frustrating his actions had been, getting angry and yelling at her for no apparent reason (at least Evie couldn't see it) over the incident with Chad. She still couldn't grasp Jay's reaction but to be honest she didn't even want to bother at the moment. Now that the inicial wave of hurt and tears was out of the way, all she felt was mad at Jay for the stupid way he had acted. _Stupid_ … He had called her stupid, of all things, it was the ultimate blow. Evie felt an enormous rush of sadness again and her eyes welled up slightly but not enough to spill over.

Mal on the other hand was completely outraged.

„He did _what_?" She fumed, jumping in her spot and whipping her head to look at Evie with a look of pure wrath on her face. Evie wasn't sure whether she was referring to Jay or Chad. „I'm gonna kill him." Mal seethed, making Evie crack a smile at her friend's protectiveness. „Screw that, I'm gonna kill them both!" Mal yelled as her hand twitched towards the spell book on her nightstand while Evie couldn't help it and finally burst out laughing.

At the sound, Mal's anger diminished and a small smile crossed her features, as she shook her head slightly. She was totally pissed at Chad and confused and angry with Jay but that could wait. Man, she was gonna make Chad pay for this. Not that Evie needed much help in that department, obviously, Mal thought with a proud smirk. She was definitely talking to Jay, though, she had to clear things up with him. Something wasn't right about Evie's story, why would Jay snap at her like that? I mean, sure, he had obvously been furious about what had happened with Chad, just like she was at the moment, but what didn't make sense was why he would lash out at Evie. No matter how angry he had been, he would've never directed that at _her_ , Mal reckoned, she knew him well enough to be sure of it.

„Okay, I think we're in need of a large bucket of ice-cream, lots of chocolate and one of those stupid comedies Lonnie praises all the time." Mal told Evie with a grin as she hopped off the bed. Before she dealt with the guys, she'd make Evie feel better, she decided. Besides, it was already late for serious conversations today anyway.

Evie smiled, jumping off the bed and running a hand through her tangled curls.

„You get the food, I'll pick the movie." She called out before Mal saluted with her hand and ran off to the kitchen to nick some of the sweets that were always available there in large quantities, also stealing a bowl of strawberries along the way.

* * *

 **A/N: You can go to YouTube and check out the Jay/Evie video I made (if you're interested, of course). Here's the link (you just have to put it right after the com):** /watch?v=WXT-6FKbNWs **(It's called** jay & evie || hazy **)**

 **And a huge thank you to everyone who wished me good luck with my move, I really appreciate it :))**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, I hope I didn't make you wait too long :) You know I update as soon as I possibly can.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14.**

Mal had a mission. She needed to talk to Jay and he was _going_ to explain himself to her, and if his explanation for making Evie bawl her eyes out the previous night turned out to be anything but completely reasonable, so help her, she would end him. She very consciously left her spell book under her pillow before leaving the dorm room this morning, lest she be tempted to use it to harm one of her closest friends, a thing she certainly did not wish to do no matter how he had acted. But, _boy_ , did he have some serious explaining to do.

She caught Jay right after fourth period, when there was a bigger break between classes, and marched up to him, reminding herself with a deep calming breath that she had to at least hear him out before transforming him into a frog. He was just turning around when Mal spoke and he spotted her at the same time he heard her voice.

„What happened yesterday?" The purplehead asked with just a slight hint of demand to her tone but her jade eyes gleamed threateningly, which Jay immediately noticed. They had known each other since childhood after all and he was familiar with her facial expressions, as she was with his (though Evie was the only one who recognised them all without an exception), so he knew well when Mal was not to be messed with. He sighed, looking away somewhat pained as well as frustrated, as his head registered exactly what his friend was inquiring about and the memories of yesterday's confrontation entered his mind.

„Mal, you know I love you, but that was between me and Evie." Jay said with a solemn expression. He still couldn't get over what had happened (he knew he wouldn't anytime soon). The hurt and sense of betrayal were so strong and fresh in his mind that he felt them clamping his chest like a vice.

„Actually, I think it's my damn business as well, seeing as _I_ was the one who almost drowned in the ocean of tears she spilled." Mal retorted, anger creeping into her voice, as a stern expression crossed her features.

Jay's face immediately fell. It came as a real shock to him, but the news of Evie's distress (and even worse, the fact that he had been the one to cause it) wounded him even more deeply than the thought of her being with Chad. _He_ was the reason for her tears, for the disappearance of the beautiful smile that he had always thrived to put on her face when someone else had made it fade. Now that 'someone else' was him and Jay felt ashamed and downright disgusted with himself. He truly was not worthy of her. The knowledge that Evie was suffering made his heart twist and wring itself painfully inside his chest.

But what she did with Chad… Jay just couldn't get himself to shake it off. Right in this moment he craved more than ever to go to Evie, to tug her in his arms and comfort her, to dry her tears and put all of this behind them. It made him almost bolt, but he just couldn't bend his will to turn his back to her actions. He wanted to, desperately, he really did, but he just couldn't let it go.

„Did she tell you what happened?" He asked Mal, unable to keep the bitterness from seeping into his tone.

„Yeah, she did and I really don't see what could've gotten into you as to take out your anger towards Chad on _Evie._ I mean, I know you must've been furious, hell, I know _I_ was, but that doesn't give you the right to treat her like that." Mal replied, her fury flaring just below the surface of her composure.

„She had a part in it too, you know!" Jay exclaimed, hurt and anger vibrating through his tone, as an image of Chad's lips on Evie's flashed through his mind and he had to clench his fists very hard to stop himself from punching the wall beside him.

„She did what she had to! How could you put the blame on _her_!" Mal fumed, unable to comprehend how or _why_ in the world Jay would turn this all around and put the blame on Evie. _Chad_ was the sick bastard here! Jay wouldn't do this, in fact even if something were to happen and every single evidence were to point against Evie (which was certainly not the case here), Jay would still defend her with claws out and teeth bared, spilling blood along the way, Mal was more than certain of it. Or at least she had been until now.

„How could you defend her?! I thought you hated Chad as much as me!" Jay shouted incredulous. How could Mal be so accepting if she knew what had gone down?

„I do! I don't get what you're on about!" Mal yelled, incredibly distraught at this point. Wasn't this exactly what they were arguing about? Chad was to blame! He had attacked Evie, what more was there to it?

„Just forget it, Mal." Jay gave up with a defeated sigh. He didn't want to fight or discuss this anymore, he was so tired. This whole situation was taking a huge toll on him; usually when something of this gravity occured, he went straight to Evie, she was the only one who could fully understand him, not to mention solely her presence brought him comfort and calmed him, no matter what the problem was. She was his sanctuary, his refuge, without being near her, he couldn't get through this. But he couldn't go to her. Not this time.

Jay's shoulders sagged and his eyes screamed sadness and exhaustion. They reminded Mal a lot of the look which had been in Evie's eyes the previous night. Before she could question him any further, Jay brushed past her and down the hall. Mal just stared after his retreating form before letting out a small frustrated yell and slamming the back of her head against the lockers.

„Don't do that." A soft male voice sounded, causing Mal to open her eyes and glance to her left, spotting Ben and Carlos as they reached her. Ben's fingers came up to caress the nape of her neck, tenderly inching upwards towards the place where she had banged her head, calming her instantly. Damn, the effect this boy had on her.

„What's going on? We saw Jay storm off…" Carlos recounted, glancing at Mal curiously and the girl sighed, shaking her head. She didn't really have the patience to go over everything, so she just settled for the shorter version.

„Jay and Evie had a quarrel and now they're both angry and hurt and not speaking to each other." Mal declared, also somewhat drained, as she leaned into Ben and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning her head on his chest, but at an angle at which she could look at her friend as they talked. Carlos's eyebrows shot up in suprise at the news, which led Mal to wonder about something. „Didn't he tell you?" She asked him curiously, figuring that if Jay was to confide in anybody about what had happened between him and Evie (as Evie herself was not an option), it would most definitely be Carlos.

„No, he didn't." The boy answered and then after a moment he furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes slightly in realisation. „But that sure explains a lot." He said, causing Mal to raise a questioning eyebrow.

„What do you mean?" Ben asked, his fingers toying with the small side braid plaited into Mal's purple hair as an accent.

„Well, he didn't tell me anything but something was definitely off about him." Carlos started, remembering the state Jay had been in when he had returned to their dorm room the previous day, obviously right after the fight with Evie. „I mean, he didn't speak to me at all and he was so…" The blond trailed off, searching for the right word. "…ferocious. When he came in, I swear, I was afraid he had ripped the door off its hinges." Carlos paused a bit before continuing. „I don't think he even realised I was in the room at first, it was like he was blind with fury. I just figured something had happened at the tourney field or something, like a run-in with one of his teammates, you know? So I didn't bother him, I just let him cool off." The boy said, shrugging his shoulders. „But then when his anger wore off, it was like someone had sucked the life right out of him. It was kind of scary to watch actually, to tell you the truth." Carlos added, worry lacing his voice. „You know what Jay's like, nothing gets him down. But last night… Man, he was like a kicked puppy, he just laid down on his bed and didn't get up until this morning when it was time for lessons. And even then he was very reluctant." Carlos stressed, becoming more alarmed the more he talked.

Man, it must've been something incredibly serious, Carlos thought. If Jay's reaction had really been the outcome of a confrontation with a teammate, the blond wouldn't be nearly as worried, he knew it would blow over, no big deal. But knowing it had something to do with Evie, he knew that whatever had gone on between them must've been as grave as a matter could possibly be.

Mal and Ben's thoughts were similar. Mal was both shocked and unsurprised at Jay's reaction, since she had been fairly certain that he must've taken it hard, but the gravity of just _how_ hard it had hit him stunned her. It didn't astonish her, however, how similar his and Evie's backlashes had been. They were so alike, it was uncanny. If they could only work out their differences and be together!

„So, uh…" Carlos began after a while. „Should we cancel tomorrow then?" He asked, a little unsure of himself.

„Cancel what?" Mal looked at him strangely. Carlos's eyes shifted between her and Ben a couple of times.

„Movie night, remember? All of us?" The boy reminded and realisation quickly dawned on Mal's face as well as Ben's. A plan rapidly formed in the girl's mind as she shook her head.

„No." She stated firmly and Ben immediately recognised the determined glint in her eyes. She was definitely up to something. „We will have our movie night. And we _will_ drag Evie and Jay to come, even if they don't want to be around each other. And we **_will_** force them to spend some time together and work things through until they get along again." Mal demanded, unwilling to take no for an answer. „I don't care what we have to do, but we _will_ fix this." She insisted, looking at Ben and then at Carlos for confirmation. „Yeah?"

„Yeah." Both boys agreed with a small nod and Mal nodded back satisfied. She wasn't letting this go. And there was another thing too. „Ben," The purple-haired girl turned to her boyfriend, whose full attention focused on her the second she called him. „I need to speak to you about something." She told him and from the look on her face he could tell it was something important.

„I'll leave you two to talk then." Carlos inserted, recieving a thankful look from Mal. „'Till tomorrow night." He waved at the two, turning around to leave.

„Don't let Jay wriggle out of it!" Mal called out after him, recieving a „Don't worry, I won't" in return before the boy was gone. Turning her head to face Ben, Mal opened her mouth to speak.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15.**

„So, I talked to Evie last night and got to the bottom of everything." Mal told Ben, with a serious business look on her face.

„And?" The boy encouraged her, genuinely curious, as well as a bit worried about what had gone down between Evie and Jay for them both to be so distraught.

„It was Chad." Mal stated, a small sneer tugging on her plump lips. „He jumped her in the hallway and tried to hurt her." She told him, anger shining through her jade irises.

„He did _what_?" Ben thundered, before letting out a very deep animalistic growl. „I can't believe this!" He fumed, his teeth baring, as he suddenly found it hard to keep the beastlike side of him at bay. He didn't want to be like this in front of Mal but he just couldn't help it, he despised foul play more than anything and the fact that one of his friends was a subject to it made things even worse. „I mean, I figured out that Chad was no good by now, but for him to stoop so low… I can't believe it. I can't believe I was ever friends with a scumbag like that!" Ben roared, unwillingly comparing himself to the rotten prince, as his father had once told him that you can always judge a person by his friends.

Mal was a little suprised at his outburst, but not scared. She could never be afraid of him. One, because it was just not in her nature to be frightened and two, because she was completely certain that even if Ben were to ever lose control over his beast, he would never ever hurt _her_. The girl reached out and ran her small hand up and down his arm in a comforting manner.

„Calm down, baby. I know how you feel, I was furious too." Mal assured him and then paused to look at him straight in the eye. She hadn't missed the implication in his last sentence. „But you are _nothing_ like Chad, I won't even hear of it." She told him firmly, not leaving any spare room for discussion. Ben felt a small wave of relief and comfort wash over the fire of rage burning in his chest but it wasn't enough to put it out completely.

„This is totally unacceptable, I won't stand for this!" He exclaimed, his voice not as loud as before but still as indignant. It was very uncharacteristic of him to be this angry, he was a calm and gentle person by nature, but he was half beast too after all and when that side of him prevailed the result was destructive.

„My thoughts exactly, that's why I came to you in the first place." Mal agreed, finally able to get to the point. „Do you think you can do anything? As a king? Form some sort of punishment for him?" She offered with a hopeful glance.

„Mal, I wish I _could_ , more than anything. _Damn it_!" Ben seethed, incredibly frustrated by the fact that it was out of his power to help his friends when they needed him. „I want to give Chad exactly what he deserves, believe me. But I can't! Not without proof." He grunted angrily, turning to look at Mal with an almost heartbroken look on his face.

„What do you mean? You're the _freakin_ ' king of Auradon!" Mal exclaimed, confused by his statement. Then her eyebrows furrowed and her face took on a sad look, with a slight hint of betrayal shining through. „What do you need proof for, don't you trust me?" Her voice came out somewhat smaller and Ben's expression turned incredulous at the accusation.

 _„No_! Of course not, Mal, I trust you with my life, you know that!" The boy rushed out hurriedly, his voice almost pleading, as he quickly put both of his hands on her cheeks and placed a gentle peck on her nose, then on her forehead and finally on her lips in reassurement. He didn't want such thoughts to even cross her mind. She needed to know he had complete faith in her.

„Then what's the matter?" Mal asked gloomily. She didn't doubt Ben's trust in her one bit but she was kind of put off by the fact that her one real opportunity of getting back at Chad without getting in trouble might not work out after all. Why couldn't Ben help? He was the king after all.

The dark blond sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, frustration and helplessness coming off his strong frame in waves.

„Listen, Mal, I don't think you know exactly how the Law of Succession works in Auradon." Ben confessed and Mal stared up at him, perplexity written all over her face, as he continued. „When the prince turns 16 years old in Auradon, he officially comes of age. He is crowned King and given more authority over the rule of the kingdom, that's true, but not _all_ of the authority, unless or until his father is dead and he becomes the one and only king. Otherwise, if his father hasn't been dethroned or deceased, the old king is declared High King until his death and has the last word in regard to any major issue or decision concerning the States of Auradon and the people in them. So you see, while my father lives, he is High King and I can't make any decisions of this calibre without his approval. Which, as you might've already guessed, he most likely will not give, if I don't provide him with solid proof regarding Chad's actions." The boy declared unhappily. „He may be a good for nothing bastard, but he's still _royal_ , which means I can't deal with him firmly without legitimate evidence, do you understand?" Ben explained, huffing once again in frustration as he finished, seeing as it was not only Mal's biggest desire but his as well to punish the pompous prince severely for daring to lay a hand on Evie. All he wanted right now was to make Evie feel safe and Mal happy.

Mal, on the other hand, let all of this new information sink in before laying a comforting hand on Ben's chest, seeing that he was getting really worked up over all of this. She could see just how much he wanted to help and that it was literally driving him crazy that he couldn't do anything about it. She fully understood that his helplessness wasn't his fault and that if it was in his power, he'd get rid of Chad in a heartbeat. Still, she felt really irritated with this stupid legal stuff. It prevented them from taking care of their friend and it was pissing her off. Ben was way worse though. She could feel his chest vibrating beneath her palm with the feral growl he was keeping in.

„Shh." Mal cooed at him, leaning up to nuzzle his neck and slide her lips lovingly up his jaw and all the way up to his ear, where she planted a tender kiss to his pulse point. She felt his heart rate slow down underneath her lips, a sign he was calming down. Good. They'd find a way to get Chad, all she wanted right now was to soothe Ben. „Don't worry about it." Mal coaxed him gently, sliding her arms around his neck. „Evie's strong, she handled Chad really well." She assured Ben, as he took a deep calming breath, before winding his arms around the purple-haired girl.

„I swear, Mal, if Chad so much as puts a finger on Evie again, I will do _everything_ in my power to smite him, even if it goes against my father's wishes, I _promise_ you." Ben swore firmly, tightening his hold on Mal, as she rested her forehead against his shoulder.

„Let us hope there will be no next time." Mal sighed softly, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt, and Ben couldn't help but agree with her whole-heartedly.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16.**

„E, why are you not ready yet? We have to go soon." Mal questioned, positioning her hands on her slim hips, as the other girl, who was currently sitting criss-crossed on her bed, typing away on her laptop, lifted her eyes from the screen to stare at her friend.

„Go where? What do you mean?" Evie asked curiously, a very slight panic settling at the notion that she had forgotten that they needed to be somewhere important.

„Movie night, silly. Don't tell me you forgot." Mal told her with an innocent tilt of her head, as a smile ghosted over her lips. There was a devilish gleam in her eyes that didn't escape Evie though.

„M…" Evie groaned, fidgeting slightly in her spot. „I'm really not in the mood for that." She told her friend with an apologetic look on her face, as she tried to wriggle out of going, fully aware of the fact that movie night meant spending the entire evening, night and probably tomorrow morning as well in Jay's presence, a thing she was most definitely _not_ ready for after their last encounter.

Oh, but Mal was having none of that. No chance in hell.

„Ah-ah," The purple girl tutted, lifting her index finger to signal the bluenette that arguing was pointless. „No way, you're coming with me." Mal commanded, approaching the bed and frowning in the process, as Evie's face fell at her words. „You need a night off, E! After everything that's happened, you deserve a little fun!" She exclaimed, trying to convince her friend, but also believing every word she said. Evie really deserved some fun and friend time after Chad and Jay and the whole mess that had gone down. Contrary to popular belief, the bluenette was actually a very strong-willed person, so she didn't really show it (except to the purple girl herself), but Mal knew she was hurting. She also knew that the small, stupid round with Jay had wounded Evie a thousand times more deeply than the fact that Chad had tried to assault her. But Mal was determined to fix that one way or another.

Seeing that her persuasiveness had little to no effect on the bluenette, Mal decided to switch tactics. She slowly, but deliberately took a step towards the bed and Evie's eyes widened as a mischievous grin settled on Mal's lips.

„Mal, no!" Evie warned, a big smile fighting to break out on her own face. She knew her friend well enough to know exactly what she was planning to do.

„Come on, E, don't you want to have fun?" Mal's fingers wiggled dangerously and her Cheshire cat smile only widened, as her eyebrows raised, and Evie let out a breath at her friend's devilish expression. She was about to break out into laughter very soon.

„Seeing Jay is not gonna be fun! The look on his face alone is gonna eat me alive, please, don't make me do this!" Evie yelled in mock terror, trying to keep calm and stay serious but failing miserably, as her friend approached her with a wicked grin on her face. Mal extended her hands excruciatingly slowly and made a deliberate, threatening move to place her wiggling fingers on Evie's ribs, knowing the effect it would have on her friend as the girl backed away from her on the bed. „Mal, get away from me!" Evie screamed with a grin shining on her face as Mal drew closer and closer, until she loomed over her.

„If you don't come with me, I will tickle you to death!" Mal threatened, letting out a maniacal laughter, her fingers inches away from Evie, as the bluenette couldn't draw back any further without tumbling off the bed. She squealed as Mal's fingers grazed her sides.

„No!" She yelled gleefully before breaking out into a fit of giggles, even though Mal retrieved her hands the minute they touched her.

„So will you come?" The purple-haired girl questioned after a second with a hopeful smile, though she knew she was determined to do whatever it took to get Evie to go with her, even if it meant dragging her down the hallway kicking and screaming. Of course, it would be a whole lot easier if she just managed to persuade her, but she _was_ willing to go to the extreme if need be.

Evie sighed, the joyful smile on her face faltering at the thought of having to face a Jay who didn't want to see her. She contemplated for a moment, because in truth she was dying to go with Mal, she wanted to see him more than anything, but she was afraid of his reaction. Ever since their fight she missed him like hell. They never fought, so she wasn't used to not being able to see him or talk to him whenever she wanted for more than a couple of hours at a time. Being away from Jay clawed at her heart, it was literally the hardest thing she had ever had to face up until now, harder than having to deal with Chad or moving to Auradon and being one of the 'villains' on top of being the new girl, or even overcoming her mother's constant disapproving looks and criticisms. Because through all those hardships, Jay had never left her side, he was always there and she could always count on him. He was her rock.

„Please?" Mal drawled out theatrically, sensing that Evie was about to cave. „Come on, E, you can't leave me alone with three guys! Don't do that to me! What will I do without you?" The puplre-haired girl pleaded with a pout on her lips, giving her friend one final push with her words, until finally Evie sighed defeatedly.

„Fine, fine! I'll come." The bluenette exclaimed with an exasperated roll of her eyes. „Jesus, don't whine about it." She muttered sternly, as she made a move to get off the bed, but the smile on her face betrayed her as Mal grinned victoriously.

„Perfect! Let's go then." She sang, pulling Evie along by the hand and out of the door, as the other girl laughed at her friend's eagerness.

* * *

„What's with all the food, bro?" Jay questioned with a laugh, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the large bowl Carlos had just placed on the table, along with five huge bags of chips, about ten chocolate bars, four tubes of ice-cream (well, they were in the fridge, but Jay had seen him put them there), three big bottles of soda and a one very large box of cookies. „I mean, not that I mind and all…" The boy trailed off grinning, as he popped the popcorn into his mouth, before reaching for more.

„Movie night, remember? The girls will be here any minute." Carlos called out and Jay's hand froze in the air before reaching its destination. „Well, them and Ben." The blond added as an afterthought, remembering that it wasn't just the four of them anymore, but Jay didn't hear him. All he could focus on was the fact that in less than, what, five minutes, Evie would be standing right in front of him and his mouth suddenly went dry. He couldn't face her, not after he had hurt her like that. He wanted to kick himself in the shins for not thinking of this sooner, how could he forget about their arrangement?

„Listen, ah, I'm gonna go out for a while." Jay stated, turning his back to Carlos, who in turn almost blanched. _Oh, no. No way am I allowing this, Mal is gonna murder me in cold blood,_ the boy thought, wondering how he could keep Jay there just until the others arrived. Carlos wasn't stupid and he knew Jay well enough to know that if he let him leave now, he wouldn't return at all tonight.

„Jay, wait!" The blond hurried to speak, once he saw that his friend was already headed for the door, and the other boy turned his head to look at him over his shoulder with his eyebrows raised questioningly. „Um… Won't you help me set up the movies first?" Carlos asked hopefully, trying to stall so that he could buy more time.

„You're a computer geek, Carlos, like you need help with that." Jay snorted slightly, his hand resting on the doorknob. „I'll be back soon, bro, don't sweat it." The boy added lightly, fully aware of the fact that he was lying through his teeth, but he was eager to get away while he still had the chance. He just couldn't bear to see Evie. God, what was he gonna say to her? There was absolutely no excuse for the way he had acted, no matter the circumstances.

In all honesty, the thing with Chad, though there was still a trace of it, was not as heavy in his mind now. But the fact that Jay himself had insulted her, that _he_ had made her cry when he was the one she had always counted on and cared for unconditionally, hung on his neck like dead weight and cut off his air to the point where he was choking. He couldn't forgive himself and he couldn't bring himself to face her, he truly felt like a villain at that moment and he felt like screaming until his throat was raw and hoarse, and his voice gone. Jay wanted, no, frankly, he _needed,_ his best friend back with every fiber of his being, every single part of him craved her like the air that he breathed, but he just didn´t have the eyes to look at her anymore.

Carlos tried to find other excuses to get him to stay, made other attempts to stop Jay from leaving, but they all fell on deaf ears. Turning the doorknob in his palm, Jay swung the door open, making a move to step outside and leave, but as he lifted his gaze, he saw that his way was being blocked by the two figures standing in the hallway. Against his will, his dark brown eyes strayed away from the jade ones they settled on at first and were met by another pair of a lighter shade of the same colour, which seemed to draw him in, and suddenly he felt like he was drowning.

 _Well, shit._


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay but you wouldn't believe how much I've had on my plate recently, it's a total nightmare! This chapter was originally longer but I decided to split it in half because the part I left for the next one is really important and I didn't want to rush with finishing it because I wanted to really do it right and well. Still, I wanted to upload _something_ already, so I'm uploading this as a lead-up to the next chapter. I think you won't be disappointed though, so have patience! :) Thanks again for all the support, I love you!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17.**

To say the atmosphere in the room was awkward would literally be the understatement of the century. Once Jay opened the door and saw the girls standing there, he very slowly backed away and removed himself from the doorway to let them inside. Knowing his escape was futile now, he shut the door behind the two and, not knowing what else to do with himself, went to sit down on the edge of his bed.

It was a hilarious sight really – Jay, sitting like he was totally out of place on the bed with his hands fidgeting in his lap, since he was wondering what to do with them. He looked much like a deer caught in headlights, not a trace of his usual devilish grins or playful demeanour. Evie would have laughed and teased him about it if things weren't so tense between them. In reality, she herself felt _very_ awkward standing there. Her gaze didn't dare to stray in Jay's direction, lest it met his by chance and thank God Mal engaged her in a conversation about something insignificant, one that Carlos joined as well, so things lightened up a little.

Ben arrived shortly after, bringing a whole basket filled to the brim with strawberries, knowing it would make Mal indescribably happy and in turned out he was not wrong, as his girlfriend flung herself into his embrace with a joyful laugh which he gladly returned as he wrapped his arms around her. Things got better after that. The guys, Jay included, began discussing the last tourney game, Jay feeling more and more at ease, and after a while the girls began pitching into the conversation as well. Jay and Evie just resorted to not speaking to each other directly, which resulted easy enough with three other people in the room, and the conversation flowed easily as everything seemed to fall into place, making them both mentally sigh in relief. The awkwardness gradually lessened to a minimum until, an hour later, there was no trace of it.

The guys had put on a movie already, but it was more of a background for their conversation rather than the main focus of their attention, though they kept an eye on it as was happy with how things were progressing. She occasionally stole glances at both Evie and Jay, noticing with time how they consciously avoided speaking and looking directly at each other, but at least things between them weren't so strained anymore. Of course, Mal had other things in mind and she grinned to herself before turning to her boyfriend.

„Ben, why were you late?" She asked him casually, seemingly just keeping the conversation going, but her eyebrow raised pointedly, signifying the king to be careful with his answer. They hadn't rehearsed this but she hoped, hell, she _knew_ Ben was smart enough to keep up with her. Thankfully she was absolutely correct, as Ben's eyes lit up with recognition and he didn't even miss a beat as he replied.

„Thank God you reminded me." He exclaimed, quickly untangling himself from Mal and getting up while reaching for his shoes as the others stared at him questioningly. „My father held me up to tell me he was busy preparing some royal documents and he ordered me to go to him later to sign them. I completely forgot!" Ben explained as he pulled on his boots while discreetly shooting Mal a knowing look at which she smirked slightly. Her expression changed as she quickly pulled a disappoined face.

„Bro, can't you do it tomorrow?" Jay asked, standing up along with the blond, but Ben shook his head, frowning sadly.

„Can't. My dad was very specific that it was important and that I had to do it tonight." The boy shrugged, throwing the gang an apologetic look. „Sorry, guys, I'll try to get it over with as quickly as possible and come back as fast as I can." Ben promised as he leaned down to press a kiss to the crown of Mal's head.

„Well, wait, I'll come with you!" The purple-haired girl jumped up readily and Evie laughed good-heartedly at her friend's eagerness not to be separated from Ben even for a couple of minutes.

„Mal, he's not gonna vanish if you don't see him in front of you." The bluenette grinned and Mal stuck her tongue out childishly at her friend's reprimand.

„You'll see what it's like someday." Mal threatened with a laugh before reaching out and slipping her hand in Ben's larger one, as they both headed for the door. _Let's hope that someday is sooner than you think._ Just as she reached with her free hand to open the door, Ben turned around.

„Hey, Carlos, do you think you could come for a bit too? I could really use your computer skills, my father's terrible with technology and I think the papers need to be scanned and sent somewhere after I sign them." Ben called out to the younger boy who had also caught up with Mal's scheme somewhere along the way and readily nodded at the young king's request, hopping off the bed in a instant and trailing behind the couple.

As they were leaving, Mal noticed the panicked look which appeared on Evie's face and knew that her friend had realised she would be left alone with Jay for an indefinite amount of time. She wasn't entirely sure whether Evie had figured out it was all Mal's fault or not but it didn't really matter as long as her plan worked. The last thing the purple girl saw from the corner of her eye before the door swung shut behind them was the matching expression on Jay's face, which had been a few moments delayed, and she snickered, resting her head lovingly on Ben's shoulder while gazing up at him with gratitude, before turning to Carlos and high-fiving him.

„Come on, boys," Mal sang smugly, as Ben and Carlos both smiled at the satisfied and downright happy look on her face. „Let's go take a walk."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18.**

The silence in the room after the door had closed was deafening. Jay and Evie remained there, with Evie sitting all tense, almost rigid, on Carlos's bed and Jay standing uneasily in the middle of the room. The dissolved awkwardness between them resurfaced and was even stronger now. They both knew they had to resolve this but neither of them knew how to do it or dared to make the first step. Evie cursed Mal in her head, she wasn't stupid and it didn't take a genious either to figure out who had set this up, especially when you knew Mal as well as Evie did. The bluenette fidgeted in her spot, unsure what to do, as she repressed the fleeting thought that Jay was the only preson she cared about strongly enough to let him make her this uncomfortable.

In the meantime, Jay was eyeing the open window, pondering whether it would hurt a lot if he jumped out of it. The bushes outside could break his fall… Then again, it was two stories down and they were rose bushes after all, so they were pretty thorny… _Damn_. He finally turned around, gathering all his courage, and faced Evie, whose expression was unreadable, to the untrained eye at least. Jay's eye, however, was particularly trained (it was necessary in his, uhm, _business_ of trade), especially when it came down to Evie. He read her discomfort immediately and he didn't know why but it made him kind of mad. This whole situation was her fault! Well, hers and _Chad's_ , Jay thought, his lips twisting into something between a sneer and an angry scowl, which, unfortunately, Evie saw and considered directed at her.

She knew he was still mad at her! She shouldn't have let Mal talk her into this, she shouldn't have come, she _knew_ it! A sharp pang went through Evie's chest and she immediately got up with every intention to leave, hurt flashing momentarily through her face. Jay was about to retort something when he saw her make a step forward, but then something caught his eye and made him freeze in his spot, the words dying on his lips. It only took a moment for a huge wave of blinding rage to overtake his entire being and make him see red.

„Evie?" Jay whispered, his darkened gaze flashing dangerously with a murderous streak, as his voice shook with anger. He spoke lowly, fearing that if he raised his voice even a little he would lose control and bust something. „Who did that?" His whole frame began vibrating with rage as his eyes rested upon the dark purple irritated spots on Evie's wrists. _Like he didn't know_. He almost growled. The bluenette traced his gaze until her own met the fading bruises and she hurried to place her palm over her marked skin, shielding it from his sight.

„What do you care?" She questioned, her own anger quickly flaring. She knew it was childish and unreasonable, but she was still mad at him for how he had acted towards her. He had made her cry her eyes out, he had ignored her for days and now suddenly he was concerned about her? (Of course, deep down she knew this was completely normal, for Jay to worry and care for her, but you know anger clouds judgement.) „I'm not yours to protect anyway!" Evie exclaimed, trying not to let it slip in her voice just how much she _wanted_ to be his and only his.

Her statement hit Jay square in the chest and he felt his knees almost give out underneath him. He took a step forward, towards Evie, to cover up the slight stagger that would've sent him plummetting down to the floor otherwise.

„Bullshit, Evie!" He yelled, outrage and disbelief written all over his face. „You've always been mine to protect and you know it!" Jay roared and Evie's anger faltered as she let out a stunned breath and blinked, trying to process his words. The room fell silent.

Jay's own features softened as he realised he had just let his feelings be known, more or less, and he decided there was no going back now. I mean, yeah, he still had the chance to turn things around and assure her that he was just looking out for her as her best friend, as a big brother figure, but as he even considered the option, Jay realised he didn't want to do it. He had always been an open person, it was time he was honest with Evie now, even if it meant facing rejection. The only thing he was desperately hoping for was that this didn't ruin their friendship because he just knew he wouldn't be able to handle losing Evie not just as a lover but as a friend too.

„Listen, Eve," Jay began hesitantly, but there was a firmness to his tone, signifying his seriousness. _No turning back, Jay, suck it up._ He trailed off, suddenly feeling extremely shy and vulnerable, and his eyes strayed away to the carpet on the other side of the room, not daring to look up and into hers. In all honesty, he would've punched himself in the face if he could, he was being a sissy.

Evie's own brown orbs, on the contrary, searched his dark ones and a slight smile appeared on her face at his obvious discomfort, as she tried to incline her head in a position where she could meet his gaze, which failed, seeing as Jay was avoiding her eyes like the plague. She couldn't help but laugh mirthfully at this completely out-of-character Jay. She had, of course, witnessed this side of him before and she had the feeling she was probably the only person to have had that privilege, but it was by no means a common occurance.

The ring of her laughter made Jay's heart stutter. He literally forgot all about his unease, as his eyes snapped up and became fixed on Evie's face. _Man_ , he had missed the sound of it! How long had it been since he had heard it last, _a decade_? His usual grin found its way to his lips and Evie's heart hammered against her ribcage, as it briefly dawned on her that it always seemed to beat faster when he was around. She also realised his smile had been the first thing to draw her in. After all, she hadn't _meant_ to fall in love, not at all, but at some point he had smiled and, _holy shit_ , she'd blown it.

„What?" Evie asked, her own smile blooming on her face, traces of laughter still evident in her voice. It was the most gorgeous thing Jay had ever heard. He took one more step forward and found himself looming over her with his head slightly bent so he could look at her in the eyes. They were mere inches apart and Evie suddenly felt like her lungs were collapsing. She had to force herself to breathe, oblivious to the fact that Jay's situation was no different. Was this really happening?

„I've sort of had feelings for you." Jay finally murmured, his voice warm and sending shivers up and down her spine. His hand seemed to take a life of its own and before he could do anything about it his fingers hesitantly ran up her arm before tenderly ghosting over her collarbone. Evie was sure he could see the blood pumping erratically underneath her pale skin. Much too soon though his hand dropped heavily back to his side and he let out a sad and dejected sigh, continuing. „And I know I can't force you to feel something for me if you don't, so, please, just don't be mad…" Jay begged, his eyes pleading, as Evie looked at him with affection, which, unfortunately, he didn't realise was meant for him. „'Cause I really don't want to lose you." The boy added so softly that it was almost a whisper and Evie had to take a moment to make sure she trusted her voice enough to speak.

„You could never lose me, Jay." She breathed and for the first time in his life Jay loved the way his name sounded. „Why would you think that?" The bluenette asked softly. She would never leave him unless he wished it so, he had to know that by now, right?

„Because, I know what I am and what I'm not." Jay replied sincerely. He might be just a common guy but he had never pretended to be something he was not. „I'm no prince, Evie." He stated, regret lacing his voice, as if he were apologising for it, and Evie had to fight the strong urge to hit him over the head at how utterly _ridiculous_ he was being. „I'm a thief. And you deserve someone worthy of you." Jay finished firmly and bowed his head looking down in sadness and frustration, as he believed his words completely. Evie simply shook her head in disbelief, as a genuine laugh bubbled out from her lips at his silliness, causing Jay's head to snap up in surprise, as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. What was she, making fun of him?

„If _that's_ what you're worried about, then listen carefully." Evie ordered, as she swiftly took a small step forward, almost fully closing the space between them, her smile widening at the startled look on his face. She continued, her voice completely calm and unwavering, conviction shining through her every word. „I don't want the richest, noblest, most handsome prince in the _entire_ world." Evie told him firmly, pointedly speaking very slowly and stressing her words, so that there was no doubt left in Jay's mind that what she was telling him was the absolute truth. „Because he won't be you." She said, her hand reaching out and lightly resting reassuringly on his forearm as Jay stared at her like she was from another world (or more like she was the best thing in _his_ world). „He will never be you. And I want _you_." Evie finally confessed, feeling like the whole world had been lifted off her shoulders. So many sleepless nights, so many hopes and dreams and diary entries, and she had finally confessed to Jay how she felt. _Finally_.

Jay on the other hand simply couldn't believe his ears. He was totally stunned into silence and he felt like his heart dropped to his heels and then climbed back up to get itself lodged in his throat.

„And you know what else?" Evie continued, her soft smile widening and turning playful. „You may not be a prince, but you have _always_ made me feel like a princess." She said and Jay just couldn't take it anymore as he roughly pulled Evie to him by the waist and crashed his lips against hers. The bluenette let out a gasp at the abruptness of his actions, allowing him to slip his tongue in her mouth and then sighed contently as her body molded against his. Her hands slid up Jay's chest and behind his neck, as he kept an iron yet gentle grip on her frame with one of his muscular arms, as his other hand came up to rest on the side of her face right below her jawline, lovingly tilting her head up so that she could fit into him better.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world, as easy as breathing if not easier, and Jay fleetingly wondered how they had never thought to do this before. How he hadn't noticed sooner that Evie had always been right in front of his eyes was beyond him, he must've been blind. At that moment the bluenette in his arms nibbled on his lower lip and Jay let out a groan, tilting his head backwards, as he felt her lips slip from his own and onto his jaw, curling against his skin in a wicked grin. He pulled away just a hair, only enough to look at her in the eyes without having to deprive himself of the feel of the sweet air she breathed out which mingled with his own, they were that close.

„Hiya, Trouble." Jay murmured affectionatelly with a small grin, his brown orbs shining with joy and mischief as he gazed upon the girl in his arms.

„Hi yourself." Evie mumbled back before the corners of her mouth also pulled up into a smile, as she tugged Jay back down to press her lips gently against his own in a tender kiss.

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 **A/N: So there you have it. I hope you're happy, I think this is the chapter you have all been waiting for, right? ^.~ As I said before, I didn't want to rush it because I wanted to write it just right, so I hope I didn't make you wait too long or get mad at me for all those cliffies :D Your support's essential to me, thank you!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey, you guys! Yes, I'm alive, don't ask... I'm sorry it took me such a long time to update, but it's going to be like that from now on. I wanted to tell you I'm not done with this story yet, in case you were wondering, and I'm going to keep writing it. Unfortunately, university has got me like a zombie, all I have time for is classes, eat, sleep, repeat. I literally don't have a single spare minute, which upsets me as well, but I can't really do anything about it. _So_ , I'm just gonna have to ask you to be patient with me and once again, thank you _so much_ for all your support! :)))**

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 **Chapter 19.**

When Mal, Ben and Carlos came back more than an hour later, they were greeted by the sight Mal had wished to stumble upon ever since her friend had confessed her feelings to her. Jay and Evie were sprawled together on Jay's bed watching the movie (or a new movie, Mal was too ecstatic to notice anything but the fact that her friends were alright again), with Evie's back pressed up against Jay's chest and his arms woven around her waist like a death grip. They were laughing at something just as the others were coming through the door and the three entered just in time to see Jay press a loving kiss to Evie's hair before she twisted around in his arms and craned her neck to brush her lips tenderly against his.

Mal had to fight very hard not to start bouncing up and down in glee, so she settled for turning to Ben, whose huge smile was present on his lips even as he kissed her. When she pulled away she bumped Carlos playfully with her shoulder and winked as the boy laughed and shook his head before heading for the other side of his room where he plopped down on his bed. Ben looped an arm around Mal's shoulders and the two of them approached the inflatable double matress lying on the floor, which the girls had originally brought to sleep on. Obviously, there would be an alteration in the sleeping arrangements, Mal thought with a grin.

„Hey, you guys. Sorry we took so long." The purple-haired girl greeted as if absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary. Ben and Carlos acted the same way.

„No problem." Jay replied, completely unphased by the fact that him and Evie were openly displaying the fact that they were together. „Ben, d'you get those documents through?" He asked, tightening his grip on Evie, as she leaned her head back and rested it on his shoulder, while fleetingly glancing at Ben for his answer.

„Yeah, it's all done." Ben threw over his shoulder with a brief glance and a smile before his eyes became glued to the screen.

Jay turned his head slightly to bury his nose in Evie's hair and nuzzled the side of her neck through the thick curtain of blue curls, which made her lean into him and sigh in content. She slightly wiggled until her body was lined up perfectly with Jay's and tucked her head underneath his chin with him resting his cheek on top of it.

Mal's shining eyes kept flickering to the couple discreetly, but the two were obviously too wrapped up in each other to notice anything other than the person whose embrace was around them at the present moment. The purple girl smiled again, content and finally calm about the situation, her chest feeling lighter, and she leaned her body against Ben's, looping his arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss on the junction between his shoulder and neck. The king supressed a groan, his eyes sliding shut, before pulling Mal closer and tangling his legs with hers.

The night rolled by quickly and two movies later Carlos and Ben were snoring away with Mal also sleeping soundly on the latter's chest. Evie was dozing off, though she was not quite asleep yet, snuggled up into Jay, whose eyes were also drooping rather fast. However, any traces of sleep in him vanished as soon as his gaze accidentally fell upon Evie's hand, more specifically her wrist, which was resting on his chest. With everything that had happened, their conversation taking such an unexpected (but wonderful) turn, she hadn't answered his question as to how those marks had appeared on her pale skin. Jay felt anger bubbling inside him again, though it was a much calmer version now. With the girl wrapped up in his arms it was very hard to get properly mad. But he _was_ going to get to the bottom of this.

„Princess?" He called softly, not wishing to startle her. His hand slowly came up to her wounded wrist and his fingers began ghosting over it absentmindedly as he spoke.

„Mhm?" Evie mumbled drowsily, half-asleep.

„You never told me how those appeared." Jay said, his fingertips drumming very, very lightly on the darkened patch of skin. In her dreamlike state, Evie felt like a bird was fluttering it's wings over her hand. It felt so nice. „Where did the bruises come from, love?" Jay pressed softly when he got no answer.

You know, they say there are two situations in which a person can be completely honest and speak the truth before he has the time to think about it, or about the consecuences which might follow, sometimes without even realising he has done it: when he's drunk and when his mind is clouded by sleep. And Evie was way too tired to think of anything at that moment, let alone take time to consider the fact that Jay might very possibly be put in jail for murdering Chad on the spot after hearing this.

„From Chad." The bluenette murmured, answering him honestly. Jay's jaw immediately clenched. _Man, he knew it!_ He'd been certain that little piece of royal trash had messed with his girl. The notion made his chest tighten unpleasantly – Evie was with him now and he trusted her completely (well, he always had) but to be honest he still held a little grudge about what had gone down between her and Chad. It made him pull Evie to his chest in a very possessive manner and she nuzzled his neck lightly after feeling the movement.

„Chad…" Jay grumbled underneath his breath and it came out almost like a curse. At this point Evie was fighting the fatigue coming over her, because even through her sleepiness she could just _feel_ there was something tense and unhappy about the boy at this very second. She didn't like it, he was supposed to be happy, _always_. She tried to stay awake and keep talking, hoping the conversation would somehow take turn for the better. Everything was hazy… She couldn't think straight, all she could do was say whatever popped into her head, so that's exactly what she did.

„Yeah, when he attacked me…" The bluenette said, drawing lazy cicles with her fingers on Jay's chest, inching up to his shoulder, her eyes still closed. Jay, of course, knew that already but something about the way she said _attacked_ made him halt. He realized in his anger he never let her tell him what _exactly_ had gone down between the two. Chad had jumped her, okay… And held her up against the wall… Jay fought a growl, but realized that that was all he had gotten from her – the rest of the information about their, uhm, _naughty_ activities, had come from the prissy prince, who, let's face it, was _not_ the most reliable of sources.

„Wait." Jay started, lowering his eyes to Evie's relaxed face. "What happened exactly?" The girl sighed at the question.

„I told you already." She whined a little, wishing to go to sleep already. It was hard to talk when you were almost unconscious. But nevermind, since it was Jay… „He attacked me in the hallway acting all creepy and weird, saying stuff about how he was better than you and how there was no one to save me from him, but I fought him off with my mirror…" Evie explained quickly with a little bit of pride slipping into the end of her statement. Jay had to know she wasn't no goddamn damsel in distress. Although, she had to admit, she did love it when he treated her like she needed him to protect her. She felt safe with him. And _loved_.

„He tried to hurt you…" Jay blinked, unable to comprehend how, just _how_ he could've been this fucking stupid… How could he have _ever_ doubted Evie? He felt like beating the shit out of himself. Nothing had happened between her and Chad, _of course_ the creep had invented it. How could he let anger blind him to the point where he would believe Chad over Evie? Jay couldn't believe it… If he had just _listened_ to her, asked her more thoroughly about it, let her explain… Man, he was so mad at himself.

And he was also mad at Chad. No, fuck that, he was absolutely livid with the bastard. Oh, he wasn't gonna live another day, that was for sure, Jay was ready to swear it on his mother's grave. He was gonna beat the shit out of him, just you wait, he was only hoping the punishment for murdering a royal wouldn't be too grave. Ah, screw it, even if it was, at least he'd enjoy it.

„It's in the past now." Evie sighed, opening her eyes just a slit to press a loving kiss to Jay's Adam's apple in order to stop him from worrying. She didn't want him to dwell on it. They were together, Chad hadn't managed to do anything serious, there was simply no point.

Jay exhaled through his nose and let his eyes slid shut as Evie's lips grazed his skin. Whatever would happen, it would happen tomorrow. Right now, he would be content with the beautiful girl in his arms, something he hadn't even known he craved until he had her there. With the bluenette settling her head more comfortably on his shoulder, they both drifted off to sleep immediately.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey, you guys! Long time, I know. Busy, busy, busy, I can't get a moment free but I hope you haven't forgotten about me :)) Okay, so this is kind of a filler chapter but I wanted to write it and you deserve _something_ , so here it is. Hope you enjoy it, sweeties!**

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 **Chapter** **20** **.**

The next day there was an unpleasant event at the school which made each and every student in Auradon groan out loud: the yearly vaccination. Once a year the students had to get a shot to keep them healthy and in top shape for the rest of the year and even though it was all supposedly beneficial it didn't make it any less unpleasant. Especially if you hated needles… like Jay.

"No way! Nuh-uh! I'm not doing it. You can't make me." Jay stated, shaking his head firmly with his arms crossed in front of his chest as him and the gang waited in line in the hallway to get their shot. Mal and Evie shared an amused look and the bluenette glanced up at her boyfriend. He was adorable when he pouted like that. Standing on her toes she leaned to her right and closer to his ear, her smile turning wicked.

"What, are you… _afraid_?" She drawled out, finishing her sentence in a whisper, which, nevertheless, all of them heard. Carlos snickered and Ben hid his smile in Mal's hair who was not even trying to fight her own grin as Jay turned to Evie with a completely scandalized look on his face.

"Pfft… Me? Afraid?" Jay snorted with a roll of his eyes, turning away from the bluenette who giggled, planting a small kiss on his jawline to soothe his ego. "Please…" He ended sarcastically, but a smirk was already making its way up on his lips at Evie's gesture, though he was still trying to act offended.

The next person whose turn it was to go in was Ben. He was in and out in less than two minutes. When he walked out of the office he gave Mal a peck on the lips and shot Jay an encouraging smile.

"It's not that bad." He said, turning his gaze to Mal, who was next in line and she winked at him before entering the office.

"Really?" Carlos asked a bit worried. He wasn't very fond of needles himself, though he was nowhere near as bad as Jay (not that he would ever tell anyone that, 'cause Jay would probably throw his dead body in the river).

"Yeah, see?" Ben reassured him, showing the boy his forearm where there was a miniscule, almost inexistent red dot. You had to look very hard to actually see it. "No big deal." He told him with a smile just as the door opened and Mal walked out.

"Well, that was fun." She said and then turned to Jay, twisting her face in a mock of terror. "They tried to drill my arm with a bormachine!" The purple girl cried flinging herself at Jay and grabbing his shirt with both hands as he tried to get away from her. "They almost _killed me with that needle_!" She screamed, sliding down Jay's chest and onto the floor where she began grossly sobbing. By that time Evie was violently shaking with laughter, Ben joined her mirthfully and Carlos was almost about to pee himself. The only one who didn't find it funny was Jay.

"Ha-ha. Hilarious, Mal." He gritted out crossly as the girl laughed out loud and got up from the floor wrapping her arms around Ben's waist.

"Come on, I'm just teasing." Mal smirked and then nudged Carlos gently towards the door. "Go on, kid, your turn. It's gonna be fine." She said the last part under her breath so that only the boy would hear it and he smiled thankfully before entering.

Jay's palms began to sweat. He was next in line. After Carlos came out he would have to go in and he was not looking forward to that _at all_.

"You know what? I think I have tourney practice." He looked pensative for a moment, while internally he was more than ready to bolt out of there. "I forgot. I'd better go before I'm late and they kick me off the team." Jay said with a grin, but before he was able to make more than two steps backwards Evie grabbed him by the elbow and tugged him back in spot next to her.

"All lessons are out today, remember?" She told him, shooting him an overly sweet smile which made him think _damn._ There was a downside to Evie's smarts as well. Then again, he didn't mind her holding onto him like she was at the present moment, so things weren't all bad. Then the door of the office opened and Carlos stepped out and Jay's thoughts took a 180 degree turn. Things _were_ bad; they were very, very bad! He was going to be sick…

"Ahh, you know, I don't really think I need this. I mean, I'm healthy, just look at me!" Jay motioned to his body in an attempt to distract himself and stop fidgeting and Evie laughed, pulling him by the arm.

"Come on! I'll go in with you. I'm next anyway." The bluenette said while trying fruitlessly to pull him along with her but it was like his feet were glued to the floor. And he was a lot stronger than her which made her task even harder. For a moment she considered asking Ben for help, but the thought was quickly dismissed. Better try a little guilt trip. She knew Jay would do anything for her, especially when it came to her being hurt or scared. She needed to play the protector card.

"You're really gonna make me go in there alone?" Trying her best to make him feel bad, Evie let her face fall and made it look like she was genuinely hurt but trying to dismiss it. She had no doubt in her mind this would work like a charm, she just knew him too well. Of course, she was right.

Jay's eyes widened in an instant. How did he not think of that? I mean, it was one thing for him to be scared but he couldn't let Evie suffer if he could help it. He never even considered that maybe he wasn't the only one afra—, uhm, _uneasy,_ around needles. If she needed him, he'd suck it up and act like a man. Lifting his right hand to caress her cheek lightly, he slipped his other one into hers.

"Alright, come on." Jay said and Evie smiled at him lovingly as they walked hand in hand through the door which closed with a small thump behind them. The nurse inside was looking over a white sheet of paper and as they entered her head snapped up at the sound of movement.

"You must be Jayden, right?" She smiled at him kindly as the boy tried not to fidget in his spot and offered her a half smile. Then her eyes shifted to the girl next to him. "And, uh…" She lowered her gaze to the list in her hands again. "…Evelyn?" The woman looked up questioningly and Evie nodded with a smile which the nurse readily returned.

"Okay then." She said, putting the list down on top of her desk and slipping on her white rubber gloves. "Why don't you sit here," She motioned to the white-sheeted bed beside her. "And I'll be right back." The nurse said before disappearing into the back room. Seeing that he wasn't going to move on his own accord, Evie gave Jay a little nugde forward and guided him until he was sitting down on the bed and she was standing up beside him.

The nurse, Madison, as her nametag read, came back a second later with a prepared injection filled with some sort of clear liquid in her hand and a small cotton ball in the other.

"This won't hurt at all." She said softly but as she took a step forward Jay almost jumped out of his skin, his eyes warily skimming over the syringe between her gloved fingers.

"Yeah, it won't." Jay agreed with a raise of his eyebrows. "'Cause I'm not doing it." He stated with an incredulous expression on his face and made an attempt to hop off the bed, only, his girlfriend was blocking him.

"Jay, you're such a baby!" Evie laughed good-heartedly, incredibly amused by the fact that big bad Jay was afraid of something as small and insignificant as a needle. Man, she'd never let him live this down! Then again, Mal was doing a pretty good job at that, the bluenette thought with a smirk.

"I don't need it, Eve! Seriously, I think—" Jay tried to wiggle out of it but was then suddenly and very abruptly cut off when Evie let out a frustrated sigh and crashed her lips against his. His right hand automatically came up to the side of her face and then proceeded to twist itself into her hair as Evie braced herself on his thighs, leaning onto him for support. Jay groaned as her tongue grazed his bottom lip and readily opened his mouth to give her access which she took full advantage of.

Then, almost too soon in Jay's opinion, and just as abruptly as it had begun, the kiss ended, as Evie pulled away and grinned at a completely breathless Jay who was sitting there dazed and now a little confused. Because then his girlfriend sent a look over to the nurse and nodded at her, as the woman returned an amused smile filled with gratitude.

"All done." Madison turned to Jay who just blinked at her before furrowing his eyebrows.

"What do you mean? You didn't do anything…" He asked, unable to grasp the situation, as the two women shared a look and started to laugh.

"I did, sweetie." The nurse replied, waving the now empty syringe in front of Jay's face whose mouth dropped. "You just didn't notice." She shrugged as she fought a grin. _Ah, young love._

Jay's gaze then turned to Evie, who was just standing there, the sheer image of innocence, and squinted his eyes at her smiling face. The bluenette leaned in and brushed her nose along his jawline, before whispering in his ear.

"Come on, Jay. Don't be mad." She grinned, planting a soft kiss right on top of his pulse point, before pulling away and stretching out her own arm towards Madison who had a new needle in her hand and did Evie's shot fast and clean.

"There. You're both free to go now." The woman smiled kindly as she went to check their names off the list and Jay hopped off the bed before looping his arm over Evie's shoulders and guiding her out of the office.

"You're gonna be the death of me someday, you know?" He murmured in her ear before biting it lightly, making her squeal just as they walked out the door.

"Well, that must've gone well." Mal stated, seeing her friends come out of the office in a good mood and shared a smile with Evie before tilting her head up at Ben. "What do you say to lunch? I'm starving." She asked, before glancing at her friends for confirmation and they all nodded before the whole group headed to the cafeteria.


End file.
